I was playing around with some numbers for other projects I’m working on, and decided to see how only one small change could affect my weight (in theory).

For example, a 12 oz. can of Coke is 140 calories. Now, let’s say I have only one can a day. If I’m not doing enough activity to burn that 140 calories, and I wind up with a 140 calorie surplus a day, everyday (either by drinking a Coke, eating a second helping of apple pie, or something else), then in one month, I’ll have a surplus of 4200 calories.

A pound is roughly 3500 calories, so I’m gaining 1.2 lbs. a month. Not really noticeable, right? My weight typically fluctuates within a few pounds during the week anyway. But, by the end of the year, I will have stored 50,400 calories or, to put it another way, a very noticeable 14.4 lbs….and now multiply that for any given number of years, and I’ve got trouble.

At that rate, over 3 years, I will have put on 43.2 lbs.

I’m using 3 years as an example because I weigh the same now as I did 3 years ago.

When all you see are diet and exercise plans for losing 10 lbs. in 10 days, 20 lbs. in a month, 50 lbs. in 90 days, and the like, it never really occurs to you that maybe — just maybe — losing 1.2 lbs. a month really can make a difference.

There’s no doubt that I’d be happy to be 43.2 lbs. lighter today.

I’m doing way more than just not drinking one can of soda, so I’m hoping that I’ll lose more than 1.2 lbs. a month (1.5 would be awesome!). But looking at the big picture one small piece at a time reminds me that it’s okay to slow down, and not feel disappointed in small victories simply because I think I could have or should have done better.

Celebrate victories, even the small ones. They add up.

Yesterday, Cindy and I finished our 10-day juice fast, and now we’re heading back into eating solid foods. We broke the fast with what started out as a simple cabbage and broth but morphed into a full-blown (and extremely satisfying) vegetable soup. Tonight, we had veggie pizza.

Losing 10 lbs. as a result of being on the juice fast is nice, but I expect it to be temporary. In fact, I weighed myself before writing this entry and I’m already up more than a pound from yesterday. I had been losing about a pound a day during the juice fast. I’m okay with that. Any real change is going to have to come from making…well, real change. It’s that simple. And this gets to the heart of why I did the juice fast.

It’s easy to set my mind at starting something…but hard for me to finish it. I have a long history of stopping projects. I thought the reboot might help me figure out more than how I really think or feel about food. I thought it would show me how I manage to talk myself into quitting projects. It’s easy to quit something when you see it as insignificant, unimportant. The problem with doing that is that eventually you start seeing more and more things as insignificant, or something you can put off until tomorrow. But eating? Now, that’s a challenge! Because it’s something I do everyday, several times a day.

What I needed was to set my mind to something I knew was way outside of my comfort zone, and then do it. When your comfort zone includes comfort foods, not eating is seriously outside the comfort zone, folks. The juice fast couldn’t be something so short-term that I could do it without much effort, but not something too long that I would be setting myself up for failure. 5 days, I could do easily. 7 days is harder because weekends are our time to explore and enjoy the foods this town has to offer. I really missed having brunch at You Say Tomato on Sunday, let me tell you! For me, getting through Saturday and Sunday was more difficult than getting through Monday to Friday. I needed more than a nutritional reboot. I needed a mental reboot. And because I can’t resist wanting to go just a little further, I chose the 10-day fast instead of the 7-day (which I think would be plenty for most people).

What I learned from my juice fast was something obvious: my body and my mind are not on the same page. That’s nothing new to me. The fact that I’m overweight is a pretty good indicator that my life is not balanced, and hasn’t been for some time now. But by drinking juice for 10 days straight, I became very aware just how often my mind lies to me. When I think I’m hungry, I might just be thirsty. When I’m hungry, I might just be bored, whether I consciously think I’m bored or not. For example, I would get hunger pangs late at night, and I would usually just fix myself something to eat, watch some more TV, and then go to bed maybe an hour or 2 later. Not so easy to do on a juice fast. Instead, I would drink water, turn off the TV, and read a book. 15 minutes later, I would notice that I wasn’t feeling hungry. It’s one of those things you know you do, but you don’t realize to what extent you’re doing it until you have to not do it, night after night.

Another very obvious thing: I do not drink enough water.

Now that the fast is over, I’ll be adding in more salads, fresh fruits and vegetables. I’ll also make fresh juice more often when I want a snack, and add more fish and seafood to meals. I’m also seriously considering making 2 days a week meatless (Geez, did I just hear someone hit the floor after reading that?) Last night’s cabbage/potato/onion/garlic/celery/carrot soup was pretty damn tasty. I definitely feel like I have a better appreciation for vegetables when done right. (I’m still going to always choose fried okra over boiled any day of the week though.)

Also, considering I spent the last 10 days not grazing and not eating anything after 8 PM, I’m definitely more mindful of late night eating, and the need to curb that impulse.

But I’m still down for the chili bacon cheeseburger with fries, and fried chicken, and ice cream sandwiches. And I’d still be up for some good Mexican food, if there was a place to get it here in Kansas City. I’m not eliminating “bad” things I like to eat. I’m adding in more “good” things, more micro-nutrient foods that I also like to eat but have neglected, and I’m giving them the same level of consideration as I would to all those comfort foods. Before this fast, if you had told me I would love eating a bowl of vegetable soup, I would have thought you were crazy.

The 60-Day juice fast that Joe Cross and Phil Staples did in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead was remarkable. And radical.

But I’m not doing that. I got to where I am by making lots of small negative changes over an extended period of time that felt good in the short-term but resulted in negative long-terms consequences. I’m not talking about just my weight here, either. So, the only way to undo it without “falling off the wagon”, to my mind, is to make lots of small positive changes over an extended period of time that may feel uncomfortable in the short-term but will result in positive long-terms gains.

I think, having done this juice fast, and coming out of it feeling like I’m in control of things that would have typically gotten the better of me, it’s going to be a much easier road to travel.

Today is Day 5 of 10 of our juice fast, and it seems to be going much smoother for me than some of the other detox/cleansing/reboot diets we’ve tried.

Everything I’ve seen or read from other people doing a juice fast, they’ve all said that the first few days are the worst, and I’d say that’s true for me. Even on Day 4, I was feeling a little bit low on energy. This morning, Day 5, I woke up and I could tell immediately that I was feeling better, my energy levels were higher, and I felt good.

Day 1 was the worst. I said I wasn’t giving up coffee on this thing, but I tried to avoid it anyway, so for most of the day I had a massive headache. By late afternoon, I gave in and had a cup, which took the edge off the headache. I had another cup at night, and was feeling mostly normal.

Day 2 was a little better. I didn’t even try to avoid coffee. I had some juice for breakfast, and then about 20 minutes had some coffee. And then a few more cups throughout the day, and one at night.

Day 3 was a mixed bag. I felt groggy, sluggish, tired. Didn’t have a caffeine headache, even though I only had two cups the entire day. One in the morning, and one in the evening, after dinner.

On Day 4, I could tell I was on the upswing. I felt better. For some reason, I was more aware of the muscles in my arms. Don’t ask me why, but it was like “Oh hey, I remember you guys”. I meant to make some coffee at some point during the day, but I forgot, and didn’t have any. But I didn’t miss it either. (This does not mean I’m giving up coffee.)

Today is Day 5. This was the first morning where I woke up feeling normal, the way I felt before starting the fast. I don’t have a headache (but will still have coffee), don’t feel sluggish, or anything usual. The first 3 nights were kind of restless (which probably contributed to my feeling groggy), but last night was a solid night’s rest. I’m not sure if that’s because of the juice, or the lack of coffee in the evening or at night, or a combination of the two. So, tonight, I’m going to make sure to have a coffee about the time I usually would, and see how that works out.

Now, here’s something I noticed by Day 2. I’ve always had this pain on the top of left foot. I’ve had it for years. It’s achy and feels tight in the morning until I’ve walked around on it a bit. The day after we started this, and every day since, that ache is still there, but greatly reduced. I can still tell it’s there, but it doesn’t hurt to walk on it first thing in the morning.

And, now for some coffee!

A couple of weeks ago, Cindy and I watched a documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It’s about an Australian guy bloke named Joe Cross who is overweight, and suffers from an  autoimmune disorder called chronic urticaria. Sick and tired of being in such lousy shape, he comes to the United States to do a 60-day juice fast so he can lose some weight and get off the steroids he has to take for his hives. He spends the first 30 days in and around New York City, and the next 30 travelling across America, meeting people and talking about what he’s doing. Along the way, he meets truck driver Phil Staples, who weighs more than 400 lbs. and also suffers from chronic urticaria.

This is their story. Well, it’s mostly their story. Joe also meets a woman named Siong who suffers from debilitating migraine headaches. She takes on the challenge of a 10-day juice fast to see what effect it has on her life.

The idea of juice fasting for 60 days is just incredible to me. I was fascinated by it, but at no time during the movie was I  tempted to try it, you know. However, when we got to the part about Siong and her struggle to deal with a mere 10-day challenge, I asked Cindy if she wanted to try it…together. 10 days. I could try 10 days.

So, yesterday I ordered a Breville juicer, much like the one in the movie, and it arrived today. After dinner, we made an impromptu juice (didn’t follow a recipe, but it’s close to things I’ve seen people juice) of 1 lemon, 4 celery stalks, 1 cucumber, a handful of spinach, 2 granny smith apples, 2 carrots, and 1 kiwi fruit. It was not bad at all. Next time, I think I’ll sprinkle in a little  black or Cheyenne pepper.

So, while Cindy is away this weekend at BlogHer in San Diego, I’ll be making a solo trip to the farmer’s market to buy (I’m guessing) 5 times more fruits and vegetables than we’d normally consume in a week. She’ll be back on Sunday, and on Monday, we’ll start our own 10-day juice fast challenge.

Cindy thinks we should keep a video journal of how we feel from day to day, so I’ll dig up the Flip camera before she gets back.

We’ll both talk about this again later — how it’s going, what we hope to get out of it, what we plan on doing after it’s over, etc. — when we actually start the fast next week. (I’ll tell you something right now though: I’m not giving up coffee or tea.)

In the meantime, if you want to see the movie yourself, it’s available for streaming on Netflix.

About a month ago, I picked up a copy of The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. I’ve been off the better-eating bandwagon since about November 2010. Between the holidays, kidney stones (and with it, a lack of any kind of exercise), birthday dinners, Mom’s comfort foods, good-bye meals with friends, and eating out way too often in our new city, I’ve put on 10 lbs. I knew I wasn’t going to try doing anything about it until after the move, but I knew I was going to do something.

So, last Monday, I started the 4-Hour Body program, which means I ate a lot of the same high-protein foods (lots of eggs, chicken, and beans), and veggies (mainly broccoli). You can flip through the book, and pick and choose any information that might be relevant to whatever your goals are, but for now, I’m focusing on the Slow-Carb Diet.

Basically, there are 5 rules to follow:

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates (or anything that can be white).
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again.
Rule #3: Don’t drink calories.
Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit.
Rule #5: Take one day off per week and go nuts.

I wasn’t supposed to eat any dairy, or white carbs/starches, or fruit, but I slipped up a few times, eating pizza twice, half a cantaloupe, and a big bowl of Three Sisters Marshmallow Oaties with Shatto banana milk (this combo is awesome!). I also added a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese to my turkey sandwiches, and I used a ranch dressing instead of lower-calorie vinaigrette. And one night, I split a World’s Finest Chocolate bar with Cindy. But, aside from a glass or two of milk, I drank only water, coffee, tea, or wine. I didn’t have any sodas.

Saturday morning, I was worried that I hadn’t actually lost any weight. I was full all the time, it seemed, and I still cheated a little, but when I stepped on the scale, I was down 3 lbs.

Now, on the 4-Hour Body plan, you get one cheat day a week. You can eat anything and everything you want, and you don’t count calories. My cheat day is Saturday because that’s when we’re more likely to go out exploring the town, and eat out. I weighed myself in the morning before eating anything, and my first Saturday meal was still slow-carb, then I started my cheat day.

After a cheat day binge, I can expect to gain a few pounds for a couple of days, but as long as I’m back to my usual weekday meal plan, I should lose anything I gained, and lose a pound or two by next Saturday morning, when I weigh myself again. I hope this is the case because according to the scale this morning, I gained 4 lbs. over the weekend. (Oh yeah, I totally cheated on Sunday with a huuuge Mexican lunch and a scoop of Baskin-Robbins Jamoca ice cream on a sugar cone. Criminy.)

Still, the first week was promising. Losing 3 lbs. without doing any exercise is not bad at all. For Week Two, I’m starting some kind of daily exercise, and drinking more water.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

And just because I think you could use a musical pick-me-up…

UPDATE: If you want to see them, I have pictures of what I’ve been eating here.

UPDATE, THE SECOND: I’m writing this on Wednesday morning. Okay, so last week, I lost 3 lbs. Binged on Saturday, and gained 4 lbs. over the weekend (even cheated a little on Sunday). Weighed myself this morning, and shore ’nuff, that 4-lb. gain was gone.

I had to go to Sam’s to pick up some kind of hyper-super eye drops that I’m supposed to use the day before my Lasik. I was a little thirsty and had twenty minutes to kill, so I went to the food area. This is what happened after I sat down with my drink:

A sizable woman and her son (looked about 4-years-old) made their way passed my table. The woman, carrying a huge purse, two jackets, and an empty 32 oz. styrofoam cup (that’s the only size Sam’s sells), struggled toward a table so she could unload her items. The boy, also carrying an empty 32 oz. styrofoam cup, did not follow her to the table, but stopped at the soda fountain. He walked back and forth between the two machines.

BOY: Which one is water, Mom? Mom, I want water. Mom, I’m thirsty. I want some water.

MOM: Stop it. Wait ’til your grandpa gets here.

BOY: I want some water.

MOM: No! Now sit down! I did not pay a dollar so you could drink water. We can get water for free.

I mean, what kind of stupid-crazy do you have to be to force your kid to drink soda instead of water…when he clearly wants water? What the fuck, people?!

Yesterday was Mardi Gras and we were planning on having our yearly meal of Everything Jambalaya, but one of our friends was busy working on a grant, which was due today at 5 PM, so we decided to have it a day late. (Should we call today Fat Ash Wednesday? Or does that just sound like a speech impediment?)

It’s one of the few times a year I get to break out the naked lady bottle opener (best bottle opener in the free world). So what if Woodchucks have twist-off tops, I’m using it anyway.

Last Sunday, Cindy and I found ourselves in the middle of a swarm of WASPs. We had decided to have brunch at a little place in town that serves up some pretty tasty food, but when we showed up at 10:00 AM, the place was closed. Curse those dirty, lyin’ fuckers and their crappy-ass lyin’ piece-o-shit website!

We wanted to try someplace new, so I suggested Anne Stuart’s Food-a-teria (not the real name) because we had heard from a bunch of people over the years that the food was really good, blah blah blah. It didn’t open until 11:00 AM, so we killed 45 minutes at Border’s, and arrived back at the food-a-teria at 11:15 AM.

The place had been open for only 15 minutes and already the line was long. Two minutes after we arrived, the line grew another 10 feet to the doors. We looked up and down the line, and even peeked over the little wall at the dining area. We thought, Wow! The food here must be really good to attract all these people.

Wait a second! What’s wrong with this picture? Look up and down the line, over the wall.

All these…white…people.

Can that be right? Look around again. Yep, that’s right. The only ethnic faces are line servers and wait staff. Okay, that’s kind of creepy.

And something else was creepy. Cindy and I were the youngest couple there, and the only young couple without kids. The others were just old folks. And everyone looked like they had just come from church. I say “looked like” because I’ve never been to a church that let out early enough so you could drive across town and be in line at 11:00 AM when the doors to your favorite Sunday eatery opened.

We got way too much food, and couldn’t eat most of it. But I can say that, yes, the food is good.

As we were eating, Cindy looked around the room and at the long line of people, and noted the constant stream of new arrivals.

“Don’t you feel odd being here?” she asked.

“Why? Because I’m the only young guy in the room not wearing an Izod shirt? And we’re probably the only people that didn’t come here directly from church? Or that everyone is white white?”

“Yeah.”

“I think if this place only served mayonnaise, these people would be okay with it.”

“Just look around.”

“I can’t, I’ll go snow blind.”

Let me be the first here to say that, yes, size matters.

A couple of weeks ago I was on a drive from Tulsa to Houston. The Trailblazer I was driving had XM Radio, and during Air America’s commercial breaks, there was a health tip (brought to you by Maxim…or Men’s Health or somebody) that stated the size of our dinner plates was a major contributing factor of Americans becoming overweight. Here’s the way it works: the diameter of a typical American dinner plate is 11 inches; the diameter of a typical European dinner plate is 9 inches. ?r² shows that the 2-inch difference amounts to the 11-inch plate having 50% more surface area than the 9-inch plate. If, like most people, you fill your plate, you’re putting 50% more food on it than a person with the 9-inch plate.

This means we’re eating 50% more food, since we usually eat whatever is on our plates. Or, to look at it differently, we feel full when our plate is empty. By the way, some restaurants use 13-inch plates, which means it’s twice as big as the 9-inch plate.

When I got back from Houston, I went out and bought a couple of 9-inch plates. Now, because we can’t fit as much food on it as we would be able to with the regular plates, Cindy and I have started using portion control. Whatever the package says is one serving, we put one serving of it on the plate. Basically, we’re eating the same stuff, but scaling down the meal to fit on the new plates.

And we’re caring over portion control to breakfast and lunch, with a snack in-between meals. If we didn’t, I would feel that because I’m eating a smaller dinner, I can eat a bigger breakfast or lunch to make up the difference of what I’m not getting at dinner. So, the change has to be across-the-board or it just won’ t work. The weird thing is that I don’t feel hungry. In fact, sometimes, I feel so stuffed that I just know I must be putting on weight. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve lost any.

Going to the gym and taking Hooper for walks is great, but with my normal eating schedule and portions, I was making slow progress. From the beginning of January to the end of May, I had lost a total of 4 lbs.

Since we’ve been doing this — from the beginning of June to today — I have lost 6 more lbs., making it a total of 10.

I had to re-check the scale a few times, but it was right.

Time to change the ticker.

Found this at a small drug store in Rawlins, Wyoming.

I realize that I was pretty tired when we arrived in Rawlins, so it might just be me, but I’m still filing this under Things That Sound Dirty.

It really isn’t just me, is it?