25 Day Travesty

Well, the 25 Day Maintenance Diet did work that well. I ended up gaining 16 pounds. Granted, this was the Holidays and I did not work out for almost 3 weeks. I spent some time with my family which was nice. My whole family was together for Christmas for the first time in at least 6 years. Also, as discussed in an earlier post, I finally joined The Tequila Club. That was a good night, but the 2nd time we went was even better (Luckily, my brother-in-law was strong enough to join me in the club). Of course, shots of tequila usually make an evening better (7 shots down, 43 more to go until I get the velvet painting of myself on the wall...tell me that's not some sort of motivation).

I have been thinking about it recently, and I wonder what I would have done if my 25 day break had been in any other month. I think I would have done a lot better. The holidays have historically been a bad diet time for everyone. With all the effort I put forth on the diet, I just crashed afterwards, but I am sure, if the break was over the summer, I would have maintained a lot better.

This pic alone is pretty descriptive of the whole break:

Day 94 - 100, THE END of the First Challenge

Net loss - 8.0, total loss 80.6

Feel free to read that last number one more time. I will wait.....that's right, in 100 days, I lost just over 80 pounds. I really did not think I could do this well. I thought I would do ok, I thought I would lose some weight, but I did not think it would be that much. First off, thank you so much to everyone who supported me on this and to all the people who answered my many, many questions (DM, that's mainly you).

I learned quite a bit on this diet about myself and what I can do. I realized that when I really focus on something and care about it, I will succeed at it (Granted, it was called 100 pounds in 100 days, but losing 80 pounds is still pretty impressive). I learned that I need to make better decisions when it comes to food (fast food is NOT the way to go). I make really good eggs (I knew this already, but it was reinforced). And the most important thing I learned is that I am a lot happier and more confident when I am exercising and losing weight, and those are 2 things I want to maintain.

One interesting thing about my diet that I learned from RM is the last thing I will share. He kept trying to get me to watch The Biggest Loser. I would try, but I am just not that into Reality TV, but I would still ask about the show as I was still interested to see what they were doing. I am not sure if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I auditioned for this most recent season of the show, and obviously, was not on the show. For those not familiar with the show, there are about 16-20 adults who go to live on this compound and workout and people get voted off the show every week. Of those who started, 4 people stayed at the compound through the whole thing, with no job, with a personal trainer, with special chefs teaching them how to cook healthier food, working out several hours a day for 101 days. Of those 4 people, over 101 days, with all that, they lost between 75 and 85 pounds. While I was on my diet, I worked full time, had no personal trainer or chef, cooked my own food (of course there were days I went up a lot too, like after Thanksgiving) and was on it 100 days and still lost 80 pounds. No need to clap, I just patted myself on the back. But seriously, I was blown away when RM told me that. I was surprised that I did that well on my own and I wished I was on the show, because I would have won.

And on that note, here are some pics:

Face pic the 1st day

Face pic at the end

Body pic the 1st day

Body pic at the end

Random pic of me sleeping the day before the diet

Please continue to read my blog, as I try to maintain for 25 days and start another 100 Day Challenge in 2009. Happy New Year.

Day 87-93

Net loss - 2.0, total loss - 72.6

Thanksgiving was good. So good in fact, that I gained almost 4 pounds. My family was in Chicago, so I went to a friends and went to town. I got there about 1.30 PM and started snacking until we ate the actual meal at 6.30. The food was so good though. Luckily, I worked through everything I ate within 2 days, and lost all that weight pretty quickly.

And I am almost done with the diet. I am excited. I am happy that this is done and that I did so well on it. I have a week to go, and then 25 days of restricted freedom. I say restricted because I plan to eat, but I know I have to control it and not go crazy. Then another 100 days, and by Tax Day next year, I will be all done.

I know these posts will not be every day anymore, but I will still post at least once a week.

Day 83 - 86

Net loss - 4.6, total loss, 71.4

I broke through the barrier I wanted. All it took was hard work and discipline. And a lot of willpower. As I said before, I dressed up as Santa Friday night, pics below. That was fun, but to be honest, it was a little creepy. I just did not feel right trying to entice little kids with candy. Granted, most of the kids who were really wrong did want to talk to me anyway. They would look at me and cry.

Day 82

Today - 1.8, total loss - 66.8

I had a good number today. I was really happy because it pushes me further along. This diet has been going so well, I almost don't want it to end. It is because of these new thoughts, I have made some plans for next year already. I am going to take 25 days off the diet and try to maintain the weight I am at. Not try to lose and definitely not gain. I will continue to work out everyday and see how my body reacts to a more normal diet. I will not go crazy, well, I am sure a few days will be over the top, but if I gain, I know that I need to go back to salads to lose those extra pounds. In the New Year, I am going to start another 100 Day Challenge to lose the rest of the weight. My goal right now is to lose 125 pounds total. I think I will lose between 75 and 80 pounds on this 100 Day Challenge, making the goal of the 2nd 100 days about 45-50 pounds provided I can maintain my weight. If I make my goal, I will have lost 125 pounds in 225 days. This is a pretty hefty goal, but I am already half way there in 1/3 of the days. It is so amazing. Where I started this diet and where I am now are so different. I have come so far and I know if I keep pushing myself, there is no reason why I can't keep going.

That being said, I am going to dress up as Santa tonight. I have to admit, I am excited. If you happen to be in, or near, Newport Beach, CA tonight, feel free to come by Fashion Island and see me.

I will post pics.

Day 77 - 81

Net loss - 3.0, total loss - 65.0

The net loss on this post is a little misleading. I had a big gain after Saturday night, but it was for a good reason. Saturday night, I had dinner with some friends I used to work with and AA (luckily, she wasn't nervous). It was an amazing dinner, we had beef tenderloin, barley, and these bacon rice creations. It was all really good, but made me gain some weight. Somehow, that weight disappeared Monday though. I am not exactly sure what I did, but I dropped a lot that day.

Last night, I went out with some friends to dinner. I ate a lot more carbs than I normally eat, and even had dessert (REALLY GOOD). We had this prosciutto wrapped shrimp and chocolate mousse that was really good.

Nothing that exciting has been happening. I have been working out twice a day, which is part of the reason I have not been able to post. I have been thinking a lot about this diet though. For example, the past 2 weeks have been tough because I have been in the same 10 pounds range and every time I seem to drop a few pounds, they come right back. I realize now, that a 1/2 pound gain is not that serious. I really need to stop looking at where I am going and one bad day, I need to appreciate how far I have come and realize that I need to keep working. One day at a time...

Day 68-76

Net loss - 4.2, total - 64.0

This has been a long week. I know I should keep posting more regularly, but I keep putting it off. I have had some bad days (as shown on the weight chart on the right), but I am maintaining. I keep working out, and I am trying to stick to my diet.

One thing I have noticed is how hard the middle 1/3 of my workouts are now. I am running now, well slowly jogging, and using that demon elliptical machine more and more. When I use the elliptical, I will use it for 60 minutes on days I don't lift weights. When I run, I have been building up to this, I run 15 laps on the outside lane of a track. The last time I went, I ran on the straight-aways and walked on the curves. Anyway, minutes 20-40 on the elliptical or treadmill and laps 6-10 are so hard to get through. I always try to talk myself out of the extra laps/minutes, but when I get through those, I know that since I have completed 2/3, I can finish what I started.

I really appreciate all of the support I am getting and all the people reading this. I will try to post more often. And cheers to my sister, who has started her own diet and has lost 15 pounds so far. Keep going.

Nothing really exciting has been happening since last week. I drove up to LA this morning to have breakfast with my friend Aesea. Her name isn't really Aesea, but when I met her Freshman year in high school, she told me that was her real name and, young, innocent gullible me totally bought it. It was good to see her and catch up.

I am sure there is more I could say, but that is all for today. And to whoever posted the comment to my last post, you are correct.

100 Day Challenge Update

I am so sorry for the delay in posting, I have been lazy. Of the 3 things I am focused on for this diet (food, exercise and blog), the blog comes last. The past few days I have done extra workouts and have ignored this blog. Tomorrow, I will be posting a new blog and updating all the numbers and the weight loss chart.

More tomorrow, but for now, please enjoy this video:

Day 67

Today - 0.8, total - 59.8

I am officially 2/3 of the way through this diet. I am really excited about all the changes and progress I have made. Losing almost 60 pounds and becoming much more active is really amazing. I am also really happy that I have been able to inspire people. I am the last person to think that when I started this diet, it would have gone so well. I do not have a good work ethic, honestly. One of my friends from college once described me as "lazier than dirt" (surprisingly, I still talk to him). I have worked out every day, hiking, walking, lifting weights, and I even tried running (I lied about that...it is really slow jogging).

I have even inspired other people to start dieting. One of the guys I work with wanted to lose weight, so he started my diet last week. I have not seen him yet, but from talking to him, he is sticking to it and really liking it. My sister has started working out and has already lost almost 7 pounds. And I know there are people who read this blog to maintain their diets, stick to it.

33 more days to go and 40 more pounds....

Day 66

Today - 1.6, total - 59.0

I dropped a lot today, of course, that has to a lot to do with how much I dropped yesterday. It was really weird. Yesterday, I voted, early and with no line, and went to see DM. It was pretty uneventful. Afterwards, I went grocery shopping and then went home. All in all, nothing special. I made salads for the rest of the week and cooked my chicken and ate dinner (a salad). I was really bored with all the election coverage so I went to the gym again to walk for an hour. This is where it got a little weird.

I was on the treadmill for about 20 minutes when the urge to pee hit me. I tried to ignore it, but after 27 minutes, I was in pain and had to go. I went to the bathroom and I must have peed for about 1.5 minutes. I just kept going. I thought, ok, I must be empty now, I will walk for another 45 minutes. Once again, after about 25-30 minutes, I felt to the urge to pee again. I thought this was really odd as I was working out and had just peed....a lot. I held on until the end of the 45 minutes though and went back to the bathroom and peed for about another minute, if not longer. I have to say, it felt really good though. Have you ever had to pee so badly that when you finally started going, you shake because you feel so relieved? That is how I felt BOTH times. It was strange, but whatever water I was retaining was all gone.

The sensation actually reminded me of when I was in France. The summer between high school and college, I was in France for 2 weeks. I went with 3 friends from high school and we were staying just outside of Nice. It was an amazing trip. Every night, we would walk down to this bar and it seemed like every round we ordered was a shot and a beer. I was 17 and had no taste, so all the water downed beer seemed tasty. Anyway, about 2-3 times a night, I would get up to go the bathroom, slightly buzzed. The bathroom light was set on a timer, so you hit it once, and when you were done, it would turn off. This is fine, except every time I went to the bathroom, I would pee so long the light would turn off, and I would have to reach back and find the switch and hit it again all while still peeing...in the dark. And when I was done, I would be completely sober. This was very annoying, but I was young, and didn't spend too much time thinking about it, I would just order another shot. And on that note, more tomorrow.....

Day 65

Today - 0.6, total - 57.4

ELECTION DAY. I went to vote around 9.30 today convinced there would be a line. I was so stoked when I got there and walked right in, signed in, voted and left all within about 10 minutes. It has been a long time since I voted, the last time was in 2000, so it felt good to do it this time. I am curious to see what happens and who wins.

As for the diet, I finally broke through a barrier. The last time I was working out and trying to get in shape, 2005, the most I lost was 57.2 pounds. I finally broke through that number on this diet and have lost more than the 2005 diet. It is a really good feeling especially since this time it took just over 7 weeks and last time it took 19 weeks. I have been much more disciplined about the diet this time though.

This is not a long post, I know, but if you have not done it, get out there and vote.

Day 62-64

Net loss - 1.4, total - 56.8

I apologize for not posting over the weekend. My internet is still not working, thus, I cannot post from home. Halloween was ok. There was a lot of build up, then it kind of fell flat. I still dressed up though. On Saturday morning, I tried running for the first time. OK, I lied, it was more like slow jogging, but definitely faster than walking. I went to a track and walked 3/4 of a lap and then jogged the last 100 meters. I did about 10 of those and for the last 3, I walked half a lap and jogged the last 200 meters. It was not bad, but it was not great. I have never really run in my life, even when I played baseball. The total distance of the walk/run was 4 miles, so it was a good workout.

Saturday night was interesting. I went out with DM and my friend AA. For those of you who don't remember AA from a previous blog, read this before continuing. She once again confirmed her nervous farting and told more stories about it. I actually felt a little bad, because as she explained more about it (she hates meetings because she can't control her flatulence), the more me and DM laughed. DM was laughing so hard she was crying. Then it got weird. AA began to tell us, in detail, about colonoscopies. She has had 2, so she knew quite a bit about it. I don't feel it is necessary to go into detail, but let's just say, if you ever get one, get the kind were you are put under, unless you like the feeling of air blowing up your ass.

We went to Hennessey's in Laguna again, hoping to see The Creepers, who are a really good cover band. Once again, we were disappointed because there was a different band playing. They were ok. We saw some crazy stuff at the bar though. There was a guy, who either forgot Halloween was the day before and decided to dress up Saturday night as a douchebag, or really was a douchebag. It was hard to tell. It was too dark to take a pic, but I will try to describe what I saw. He was wearing torn jeans (with a huge hole in the knee), a sport coat, a dress shirt (unbuttoned to the middle of his chest and with the sleeves unbuttoned and way too long), and a lame silver chain. The best part was his hair. It was not that long, but it was greased back to his scalp and he had it pulled into the one of the smallest ponytails I have ever seen. He was an expert dancer though. In one 10 second span he went from air guitar to air drums and at the end, he even threw in some air piano. AWESOME. Oh yeah, and he was dancing with a chick who had the word "STARLET" airbrushed on the ass of her pants (we couldn't figure out the word at first, and had to stare at it for quite some time to figure out what it was). I think they got along because her hair was shorter than his, and pulled into an even smaller ponytail (which after I saw her, became the smallest ponytail I have ever seen).

Sunday was not that interesting. I had the day off, so I went to work out twice and watched a lot of football. Anyway, here are some of the pics from Halloween.

Day 60 & 61

Net loss - 1.2, total - 55.4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. This is one of the best holidays of the year (besides my birthday and Christmas). I will be posting pics of my costume, but for now, what I will be is a secret. So I could not post last night as my Internet is not working at my house and I have to go to my friends to post (ultra annoying). But I am still here, and I am still working out. I want to thanks those of you who are still reading even after the week off.

It has been a few weeks, and I tweaked it again, so I will list my menu again. I have tried to cut out a lot more carbs again to break through a plateau, and it is working. Also, I am still trying to eat every 3 hours, but obviously, the meals are remaining pretty small. This is what I eat on a daily basis now:

Breakfast
1 banana (before I work out, this will not change)
2 eggs scrambled with onions, hot sauce, spinach and parsley (I also add 1/2 a piece of low-sodium chicken sausage (from Trader Joe's) and a slice of low-fat cheese on the the days I lift). I was adding peppers, but I found them to be too much. I really like the eggs and onions breakfast.

Snack 1
1 apple or pear
1 yogurt (it was Activia, but I switched to Dannon Light & Fit)

Lunch
Salad with lots of lettuce, spinach, parsley, broccoli, peppers (red, green and yellow), cabbage, and low sodium salad dressing spray.
3-4 oz of chicken - this I barbecue after using a no sodium marinade and then cut up and put on the salad.

Snack 2
1 low-fat string-cheese
4-5 oz of celery sticks and baby carrots (not 4-5 oz of each, 4-5 oz total)

Dinner (Snack 3), but this is not everyday,
2 turkey/lettuce wraps - 2 slices of low-sodium turkey, some spinach, mustard, 1 slice of low-fat cheese, 2 romaine leafs.

And that is all I am eating these days, as well as drinking lots and lots of water. I think I am drinking about 3 liters of water a day. I have been on this diet for 61 days now and I am wearing pants that are 3 sizes smaller (comfortably) and shirts that are 2 sizes smaller. I feel really amazing when I put on clothes now, and that makes it so much easier to maintain.

Sometimes working out is really difficult though. For example, yesterday, I was going to go the gym in the afternoon for a second workout. I came so close to talking myself out of it. Even as I was driving there, I kept thinking I could just turn around and go home and it would be ok. As I drove in the parking lot of the gym, I thought about driving through to the other side and going home. When I got out of my car, I wanted to get back in. By the time I stepped on the demon elliptical machine, I was really close to calling it a day after 2 minutes, but somehow, I stayed on. I pushed through and went the 3 miles I wanted to go and I was happy I stuck with it. The feeling of pushing yourself through a workout and getting that extra mile, that extra minute, that extra incline is pretty amazing. I feel so good when I done working out, I just have to get through that first 5 minutes.

Like I said above, my clothes are shrinking as well, so I wanted to show off. I am a nerd, I know, but I wore some new clothes yesterday and I was really proud of it, so I was telling everyone who would listen that what I was wearing was much smaller than what I was wearing before.

Me, ready for work (shirt 2 sizes smaller and pants 3 sizes smaller)...striking a pose

Really, though, you might need to see the outfit again

This is my new sweater (I have never worn a V-neck before)

and pants that I have not worn in about 3 years:

WHAT? WHERE? Is Timmy trapped in a well? Who is Timmy?

Are you sure? I didn't see anything...

Over there?

I think you might be wrong, I am going to look the other way...

I hope you have a good, scary Halloween.

Days 52 - 59

Net loss - 7.8, total - 54.2

I am back. Sorry about the absence, but I needed to get away. I will be blogging again, everyday, and writing about how I am doing with this diet. I put the total loss at the top of this post, but there are daily numbers on the side. I also updated the weight-loss chart.

What has happened in the last week? I have been working every day and still losing weight. I am trying to stick to the diet, but yesterday I strayed. They had cake at work, so I indulged and had a piece of chocolate cake. It was pretty tasty. I tried to compensate by going to work out after work, and I still lost some weight, but not a lot.

I know I have been putting this off, but I am going to post some before and after pics.

This first one is me and Gootch on the Baseball Road Trip. We are in Pittsburgh

and this is a week before the diet started.

2 days ago, down 52 pounds, wearing clothes that were way too small 2 months ago.

Face pic from the start of the diet.

Today's pic.

That will conclude this post, I just wanted to get back into posting everyday. I am going to blog and workout everyday. 46 pounds to go.....

Day 51

Today - 0.0, total - 46.4

I did not lose any weight today and that is ok. I went grocery shopping yesterday. As a treat for being on the diet for 50 days, I bought one of those salads in a bag (with dressing) and some pre-marinated chicken. It was a little salty, but it was really tasty. I didn't realize how much I have changed since the diet started. Before, I would have wanted something fried for dinner to celebrate followed by a chocolate dessert and no salad in sight. I know that this is how I am going to eat when I am done with the diet to maintain my new weight and I liked it. It was tasty and satisfying.

I really don't have much to say today, so that is all for now. More tomorrow.....

Day 50

Today - 0.8, total - 46.4

I am halfway done, I am halfway done, I am halfway done. This is such a good feeling. I have been looking forward to it since I started. I know that now that I am halfway done I can keep pushing for the next half. I am really proud of what I have accomplished so far. I started out walking 2 miles a day and now I am walking 5.5 miles and uphill. I have dropped 2 shirt sizes and almost 3 pant sizes. I can fit into some of my clothes for the first time in 3 years, and I am now the lowest weight I have been in well over 3 years. This is amazing.

So what did I do to celebrate the halfway point of the 100 day challenge? I did yoga for the first time ever. Let me tell you how badly I wished it was being filmed. Grace, balance and any sort of flexibility have been lost on me but I tried. It was ok at first, the general stretching, but then the hard part started. I almost fell over several times, especially when we were supposed to be standing on one leg. Luckily, I was in the back row, in the corner by another guy who had never done yoga before.

Overall, a good day, and a great 50 days. Here's to 50 more...

Day 49

Today - 1.0, total - 45.6

I went to the gym this morning instead of going on my normal walk. I figured I could do more there than just walking. I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then walked on the treadmill for an hour. It was a good workout, but I was surprised by, not only how many people were there at 6 AM on a Sunday morning, but by the fact I was there at 6 AM on a Sunday morning. I have been thinking about using the bikes at the gym too, but I am pretty sure that would not be a pretty picture.

When I weighed in this morning, I was surprised that I dropped a pound. This means that I am at the lowest weight I have been in 3 years. Like I said before, I worked out with a personal trainer during the summer of 2005. I dropped a lot of weight, but put it all back on when I stopped working out and stopped eating nutritiously. With the pound lost today, I am exactly the same weight as the lowest point of working out in 2005. In 2005, to get to the weight I am now, it took 19 weeks. This time, it took 7 weeks. This weigh in was pretty amazing, and with the clothes shopping yesterday, I am really happy right now. I am excited to see what the weigh in will be tomorrow...

Day 48

Today - 0.2, total - 44.6

HAHAHA. If you didn't read it, read my sister Shalini's lovely comment from the post yesterday (thanks for that sis). I know I need to put things in perspective sometimes, but I usually forget to do that. Today was a really good day. I admit, last night, when I was posted, I was pissed, but it had nothing to do with the diet. It is of no consequence what happened, I am over it now.

Today was really good though. Work was the same old same old, nothing new in that really. However, we were having a big sale. Let me backtrack a little. Before the diet, I was too big to shop at normal stores for clothes. Unfortunately, XXL shirts and size 42 pants just didn't cut it, which is what most stores carry. I had to shop at the Big & Tall stores (when I would shop, which was not often, I would always just say I went to the mall and that I couldn't remember what store I went to). A couple weeks ago, when I noticed I could wear smaller clothes, and wear them well, I started looking at the clothing at my store. Obviously, since the clothes didn't fit me before, I never bothered looking. Now, I admit, I am always looking at what we have and what I would like.

As my friend from cosmetics was leaving, I asked her to help me shop for some clothes. When we got upstairs, she asked me what my style was and I had no answer. Because I couldn't find clothes before, I always just wore t-shirts and jeans (now I have to think about style....brutal). As we were looking around and trying things on, I was blown away at the clothes that fit me now (we also had a lot fun with it and I cannot wait to lose more and go shopping again). Granted, some clothes still fit small and just don't work, but some of the clothes fit well and looked good. I felt so good about that and I really felt compelled to start pushing more on this diet. I think I am hitting a small plateau again, and the only thing to tweak now is that I have to do more when I work out. I am doing so well and need to not only maintain, but do more.

Whoo, ok, so after all that, I bought a shirt and tie and a sweater. Admittedly, I have never been a sweater guy, but a few more pounds to go and it will look really good. What a good day after yesterday. Who would have thought trying on clothes would do that.

Finally, to "Anonymous" who left the YouTube video for me to watch yesterday. Thank you for that, it was a good video. But who are you? Feel free to email me at: saschablog100@yahoo.com.

Day 47

Today - 0.4, total - 44.4

Not much to report today. Lost more weight. Worked out pretty hard in the morning. Work was lame. Great.

Day 46

Today - 0.4, total - 44.0




What a day. I went on a long walk today (which has now just become "my walk" as opposed to an "extended walk"), that was 5.5 miles. The worst parts were the 2 major hills I walked up. It was not easy, but I pushed through. I realized that like much of this diet, I do not like the struggle and the work, but if I make myself keep working, I feel better about completing something I put my mind to and I feel great about the results. I have really become adapted to this diet and exercising every morning feels so good.

After the walk, I was a little sore, but I think that was from yesterday. I am trying to add to my workouts, so I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. I did not like it. I made it through, somehow, but it wore me out. I then walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I walked 40 minutes at an incline including a total of 10 minutes at Level 5.0, which is more than I have been doing.
One really interesting thing about yesterday was that I was broadcast on the internet. Let me explain. I was talking to one of the people that works in Cosmetics the other day about my diet and what I had changed in my life. It turns out, her and husband have a nightly show that they broadcast on blogtv.com called J Francis Radio. She asked me to be on the show to get my story out, and so I said yes. Anyway, they called me last night and interviewed me about the diet. There are a few links as they break the video into 10 minute segments, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

It was good to get a new audience to share my story about this Challenge (and to those of you who listened last night, keep reading and tell your friends). I will also be on the show, in the studio, next Tuesday night. They broadcast at 9 PM PST at http://www.blogtv.com/People/Jfrancisradio, so remember to check it out.