The Great Breakfast Experiment

So yesterday was the day of the Great Breakfast Experiment. I cut my breakfast by half to see if it would help me to be hungry for lunch, and it helped! I didn't really feel quite full after breakfast, but it wasn't intolerable, and I wasn't horribly hungry at lunchtime or snacktime, but I was able to eat both. I cooked and ate dinner at a reasonable time, and I was definitely in a better mood in the evening. I think I even had more energy, judging by the fact that I exercised not once, but twice yesterday! I was pretty hungry in the evening, though, so I definitely need to get some sugar-free Jello and have it available for desserts. Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: 1/4 lb deli ham, string cheese - 3.38g
Snack: String cheese - .8g
Dinner: Chicken with Red Wine Sauce, 5 oz broccoli - 12.68g
Dessert: None
Total: 18.41g

I've made a couple of changes to the layout of the blog, as well. As you've probably noticed, I added a pair of text boxes to the right-hand column, one for goals and the other for the song of the day. I thought it would be a fun and easy way to keep track of them.

I haven't talked much about goals in the blog so far, so I'll go into that a little bit today. Of course, my long-term goal and the reason for changing my eating habits in the first place is to lose a bit over half my body weight and reach my eventual goal of 175 lbs. I know that according to the "standards" I should weigh around 130 lbs, but I also know that to expect to weigh less than I did in high school when I'm now pushing 40 is ridiculously unreasonable. I looked great (although I certainly didn't believe it at the time) when I was 17 and 150 lbs.

Me at 150 lbs, 1989

Anyway, I think 175 is quite a reasonable, reachable, and maintainable long-term goal. Based on my friend Jocelyn's recommendation and some of the research I've done, however, it's important to also have short-term, achievable but not easy goals. I've decided to make my short-term goals on a monthly basis. If and when I reach my goal, I will earn a predetermined, non-food-related reward. My initial monthly goal was to get under 400 lbs by the end of September, based on my estimated pre-diet weight of 415 lbs. When I proved on my first weigh-in to be 397 lbs, that goal was accomplished without even doing anything, so I set another one for September.

My goal is now to weigh 375 or less by the end of this month. Because I weigh in only on Mondays, "the end of this month" actually ends up being October 4, but since it's really an arbitrary date anyway, it's not all that important. After my 8 lbs lost so far, I'm at 389, so I have two weeks left to lose another 14 lbs. Based on my numbers so far, I'm fairly concerned that I won't be able to lose the 7 lbs. per week necessary to reach my current goal. The goals are simply something to work toward in order to earn a reward, however, so if I don't reach it, this month's reward will simply become next month's reward if I reach the new goal I'll set for October. I hope I reach it this month though, because I've decided my reward will be to spend my birthday money on a new tattoo!