Vegetarian Weigh-In #3

This week turned out hella good for the diet. Came up with some new dishes for variety's sake, didn't eat as much as previous weeks because I wasn't craving or hungry nearly as much, and exercised Monday through Friday. Stepping on the scale this morning showed me that I continued to weigh in at 206 pounds, which is better than the 206 pounds I weighed last week. What did you just say, Chris? Let me explain...

Last week, the scale bounced between 206 and 209 before finally settling on 206 (don't ask me why it didn't bounce from 206-207; it's digital and weird like that). Wanting to face the truth and not shirk away from progress (or a lack thereof), I tested the scale three times last week as per my usual routine. Each time it bounced around before resting on 206. Okay, fine. I'll take it, but when the scale bounces like that I know I'm probably very close to 206 but for whatever reason I'm actually straddling the fence, i.e., somewhere just above 206. So today when I weighed myself the scale went to 206 right away and--get this--bounced between 206 and 202! Ultimately it stopped at 206, however, telling me that I'm now on the underside of that weight, and so long as I keep up this diet and exercise routine I'll see myself drop a couple more pounds by next Friday. So, today's 206 is better than last week's 206. Got it?

Energy continues to be in abundance (perhaps too much; see below). When I wake up I do so immediately and feel completely refreshed. Only one night this week did I break my 7:00-8:00 deadline, and that only because I missed a meal earlier in the day. Good energy returns all around.

If you remember, last week I made the goal of eating more fruit, and I'm happy to report that goal was accomplished. I also found whole grain, low-carb pasta and low-carb, low-fat sauce to go along with it, meaning that good times are here again! It felt so good to eat pasta after an incredible amount of time away. I also found ingredients for a vegetarian, South Beach-approved burrito, which I've yet to try. I bought some new snacks that were diet-compliant as well, helping vary the tastes available to me. Probably the best week for the diet so far.

Two problem areas have arisen, however: 1) Water consumption. Frankly, I can stand to drink more. All the fruits I've been eating have helped, but falling back on them isn't good enough, so this week I make it my goal to drink more water. 2) Sleep. I've had a rough sleep schedule this week, and I'm not sure why. I had good bedtimes last weekend and even got to bed on time this week, but each night I laid down I stayed awake for more than an hour. Some nights I was awake until 2:00 in the morning! I either have too much energy and am not ready for bed at 10:30-11:00 (very possible as I still feel very alert and awake at night), or my circadian rhythms are messed up causing me to want to sleep in till 9:00. Either way, going into this weekend I plan on staying up late, waking up early, going about my day and getting to bed by 11:00. Hopefully this will re-set my internal clock, making me sleepy when I'm supposed to be. Let's hope so, as I start a new job on Monday and don't want to go in completely zombified.

What a great week! At this point I encourage everyone to load up on the fruits and greens, cut the carbs and sugars, exercise regularly, and cut yourself off at Prime Time. The results will probably surprise you.

Here's to another feel-good week!

-C