Category: Scoop

This AT, I’ve been eating more than I thought I would. This is because of the lunches I’ve had for the first four days. Starting today, I am going to have to cool my jets and eat lighter for lunch. Breakfasts have been similar, but likely also a bit more calorie heavy, and dinners have remained the same.

I try to justify the extra calories due to all the extra active hours and active PT I’ve been doing, but the net result is that I’m not losing weight. I’m still at 178.2 lbs which is 2 lbs more than I am allowed, and 12 lbs more than my goal weight.

To be fair, I also know that I am experiencing inflammation of my muscles right now from doing exercises that I don’t normally do as well as doing it more often than I normally do. So there’s that.

Starting today, I am going to stick to what my last AT diet was: Epic Bars, RXBars, and nuts. That contains all the calories and nutrients I really need, and doesn’t overload me. My goal is to lose 12 lbs within the next two months. I’ve not made any progress in the last four days. I need to reverse that.

This will be the last regular update of my post-trip food, because I think it’s been a good representation of what I eat.

Breakfast

• I ate at the armory and had scrambled eggs and two slices of some kind of breakfast sausage that tasted like it had sugar in it.

Lunch

• Carnitas and grilled vegetables at Mamacita’s

Dinner

• Eggroll in a bowl. This is a Whole30 recipe that we found a while back that we really enjoy

Don’t you just love the military and all the acronyms we use? PT means Physical Training, also known as exercise time. AT means Annual Training, the two weeks of duty National Guard and reserves perform every year. I am currently on my AT, and as such, we’re exercising daily. Today was the first day.

I was in charge of the run portion which means I had a group that I would take out for a run that wasn’t too hard, fast, or long: about 4/5 of a mile at a 9:30/mile pace, or so. I had to do this three times, so while everyone else ran 4/5 of a mile, I ran about 2 miles overall.

After running my easy runs, we had to do sprints which really was more difficult for me than I expected because I don’t run sprints. Ever. I don’t get chased by many people (which is the only reason I have for doing sprints), so this was a wake-up for me. I will be implementing sprints into my routine from now on. I couldn’t believe how much my upper thighs burned after these sprints.

All in all, it went well, and I did as well or better than I expected. We will be doing this every morning, so I will likely be in much better shape by the end of AT.

I’m on Annual Training again for the National Guard. That’s my two weeks of summer training we do every year. This year, however, we are not deploying to the field, which presents new challenges in the diet realm.

The food we are typically served isn’t what I would call healthy. It’s very carb and sugar heavy, and most of the carbs come from grains and very sugar-heavy fruits like bananas. This makes sense for soldiers who are deployed and need lots of easily convertible energy to get their jobs done in a combat environment. The problem is, we are still fed this way even in garrison.

Breakfast is usually some eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, waffles, cereal, and fruit and fruit juices with some coffee. Not all of these are available at the same time: it will be a combination of about three or four of those foods at any given time. Sometimes, I can eat something here that is okay, but most of the time, I can’t. For this reason, I’ll just keep it safe and eat my two eggs and two slices of bacon at home.

Lunch: MRE. No, no, no, no, and no. lol

Dinner: Most of the time, it’s very carb-heavy with spaghetti or some sort of noodles and meat. Often, the meat is something like Kung Pao Chicken or Chicken Parmesan or somehow coated in stuff I don’t eat. If they have something healthy, I’ll eat it. Otherwise, I’ll just wait to eat at home afterward.

I will be fortunate enough to be close to home during this AT, so I will be able to stay at home in the evenings and take food with me for lunch daily. I will be sticking to my regular breakfast and lunch routine, and for dinner, I will eat those at home as well. The funny part is that I will have to stick around for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the armory. I even have to pay for those meals! But it is what it is: I’ve made my peace with that. I will eat right, and I will keep my body healthy despite what they are feeding “Us.”

I sincerely and overwhelmingly enjoy my National Guard service and the time I spend with the soldiers. I anticipate with excitement my training later this year to become MOS qualified, although it will definitely challenge my diet as I will have no way to make my own food. I am certain I will find ways to eat right, but it will be a challenge nonetheless.

Pretty busy day for me yesterday being my first day at AT this year.

Breakfast

• The usual: two eggs and two slices of sugar-free bacon

Lunch

• I was getting hungry and wasn’t sure what I was going to do for lunch, so I ate an Epic chicken Sriracha bar.

We then decided to go out to eat for lunch, so I ate:

• Ceasar salad with no croutons
• 8 oz sirloin steak
• 6 grilled shrimp
• Green beans

This is more than I would typically like to eat at lunch, but I didn’t feel stuffed or over-full afterward.

Dinner

We went to a small get-together with a friend’s family where I ate:

• Pulled pork (two servings: absolutely delicious!)
• Raw broccoli and cauliflower
• Watermelon (about 1/3 cup total)

Again, more food than I would have typically eaten, but it was delicious, and again, I didn’t feel stuffed or too full.

18 lbs. That’s the damage. After two weeks of eating big breakfasts, big lunches, and big dinners that included alcohol, stepping on the scale when I returned home from Ireland and Scotland was a sobering experience. I expected it, however, and I had already made my peace with it.

This is important. In the past, I went on vacations and struggled with what to do and how to eat. I was emotionally wrecked many of those times, and it caused me to not be able to enjoy the trips as much as I could have. I also would give in around half-way through the trips and allow myself to eat whatever food or drink was available and representative of the location or culture I was visiting, but the guilt I would feel was immense. It weighed me down.

Not this time.

I let myself enjoy the food and drink without guilt, without self-doubt, and without remorse. The result was a more peaceful and enjoyable vacation, and now that I’m home, it is allowing me to tackle my diet head-on. I’m energized, excited, and smashing past the hurdles to drop the weight. As of today, I’m down 10 lbs out of the 18 I gained on the trip, and I’ve set my goal for another 12 lbs to get me to 165 lbs.

The most difficult aspect of a healthy lifestyle is the mental game we play against ourselves. We are married to these foods and the way they make us feel. It may be because we take comfort in the memories the food brings us, or just savoring the flavors is so pleasurable. But eventually, we have to push past what we think feels good in the short term to what actually benefits us in the long term and makes us feel better overall. What I’m trying to say is that pizza tastes great. It really is a comfort food for me, and while I’m eating it, it’s heaven. But afterward? I’m bloated, I feel sluggish and slow, and within a few hours, I’m craving something else. I don’t miss that at all. I much prefer the lean, satisfied feeling I have throughout the day, even after I eat.

So now, as the title says, I’m getting back to brass tacks. I’m bearing down on a proper diet, and I’m keeping my eye on the prize (how many more analogies can I write?). Whatever it takes, get your head in the game and steel your focus on a goal. My goal: 165 lbs and eating right. I won’t settle until it’s done.

I had planned on exercising a lot more than I did on this last trip. I ended up running twice. I enjoyed both runs immensely, and they were in spots I will likely never be able to run again (Dublin, Ireland, and Inverness, Scotland). More importantly, I was able to get out and exercise, if just a little bit, while on vacation.

I typically aim for three runs a week, although over the past 5 or 6 months, I’ve only regularly made 2 runs a week on average. I am changing that beginning this week, but that’s the reality of where I’ve been. While on this last trip, I also did push-ups on a few mornings, but again, that wasn’t my goal. Running every 2nd or 3rd day was, and I missed the mark.

I didn’t want to impact our friends who travelled with us too much with my exercise, and also, the weather was very cold and/or rainy on some mornings, and I didn’t want to run in 46 degree weather while it was raining. That just didn’t seem like a good idea to me at the time. I also didn’t want to risk hurting myself which would severely impact our ability to enjoy our vacation.

In the future, I will still set goals for exercise, namely through running, but I won’t beat myself up if I can’t meet those goals and I will celebrate when I am able to run. With that said, I am glad I did get those two runs in. They will remain in my memories as some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve had runs in.

It’s the fifth day since I returned from my trip, and I’m seeing my progress stall a bit. I’m at 178.2 lbs, which is close to where I NEED to be, but not close to where I WANT to be.

Breakfast

I’m sticking with what I know works best for me: the ol’ usual.

• Two eggs sunny-side up, two slices of sugar-free bacon

Lunch

• Whole30 compliant Chorizo and Beef Meatloaf with Brussels sprouts and sweet potato

Dinner

• My wife made an amazing meat sauce that we put over spiralized zucchini. It was so good, I ate too much and had a second serving.

After my run, I weighed myself and got down to 177.2 lbs. Getting there, slowly but surely!

Before going on my most recent vacation, I thought long and hard about how much I would allow myself to experience the culture through food and drink. On past vacations, I did all I could to mitigate the damage from eating carbs, sugar, and drinking alcohol by severely limiting the amount of these foods I would have. What invariably happened, however, was that about half-way through the trips, I would decide to not mind the food as closely as I had in the beginning which would do two things:

1. Cause me to gain weight.
2. Cause me mental anguish over losing control.

The first cannot be avoided if I’m not controlling my diet closely. I had to learn to just accept it and to let go of the stress of it to get past the second item. That’s why on this last trip, I decided that I would just eat and drink whatever I wanted to for the 12 days. I knew that it would result in weight gain, but since I knew how to lose the weight safely, I would just go into weight-loss mode upon my return and I would have made great memories in foreign lands having experienced their amazing cuisine.

It turns out, this trip taught me a lot more than just the history of Ireland’s revolution or the clans in Scotland. I learned that making a decision prior to a vacation about letting go of the stress and pressure of eating right made my time much more pleasurable. I had a much better time since I wasn’t stressing about the carb content of everything I ate. I also got to enjoy cider, a favorite of mine I only allow myself in very limited quantities. I also learned that the diet I am normally on, the Paleo Diet, is very good at controlling my weight, and it makes me feel better. Eating all the sugar, carbs, and drinking all that alcohol regularly kept me feeling bloated, swollen, and my sleep wasn’t nearly as good. I also felt more sluggish, as a result, and when I did do exercise, it felt much more difficult.

I used to advocate mitigation of eating and/or drinking non-Paleo foods while at special events, occasions, or trips/vacations, but now, I think I’m evolving my thought into making peace with the consequences of voluntarily jumping off the diet, and being prepared to pay for the decision by doing the work necessary afterward. I am not nearly as upset, cranky, or upset as I was on the last few trips we made where I ended up eating and drinking non-Paleo foods. From a mental health standpoint alone, I think this last trip was much better for me.

I want to say that the above works for me based on my experiences over the past 30 months of having adopted the Paleo Diet. I’ve been successful at maintaining my weight loss, and I know how to lose weight when I need to. I’m now currently engaged in weight-loss mode once again, and I am looking forward to experiencing it all over again. I hope that my experience is of value to you, and that you are able to take something from it to aid and assist you in your own healthy eating journey.

My morning weight is up just a few tenths: 178.5 lbs. I’m still very happy with this, as I’m back in the 170’s for two consecutive weigh-ins. Just a few more lbs to go and I’m already back in military regulations for my height.

Breakfast

• The usual: two eggs sunny-side up and two slices of sugar-free bacon

Lunch

• Brisket with Brussels sprouts and sweet potato nuggets. This was a good portion: not too much, and just enough.

Dinner

So, there’s a little background on this. My son wanted to take Sherry, my daughter (who is in town this week from NYC) and me to dinner, so I agreed as long as we ate at a place that I could eat Paleo food at. He suggested Nik’s Steak and Seafood which is a favorite of ours, so we went there. I ate my usual without the sweet potato fries.

• Dinner salad with oil and vinegar
• 4 grilled shrimp
• 8oz Red Snapper filet
• Broccolli

That dinner was a big bigger than I prefer, but my weight held steady at 178.2 lbs, so ‘ll take that as a victory. Also, I’ll be running again this afternoon, so I look forward to dropping a little bit of water weight after that, too.