(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Well, first of all, I want to reference this post: Well THAT Sucks!

If you notice today’s Diet Diary, I’m now 315.8 pounds. Still no exercise today. I told you yesterday that my weight would be about the same as yesterday. It’s close. And soon it’ll drop below 315.

Now, as for Slim-Fast, look at the side of the box. Seriously. I eat the 220 Calorie Optima bars. They have 35% of most vitamins. They are 35g of carbs, which leaves room for milk. They have some dietary fiber. They are low in fat, with no Trans Fat. So, basically they are really good for you. Now, no, I’m not saying go out and buy tons of Slim-Fast and eat only that. What I’m saying is if you use those for snacks, they work very well.

Now, medically, I asked my diabetes nurse about them when I started looking at them after dieting. See, I thought that eating what looked like a candy bar, but it being good for you, would be a cool thing. So I called her up.

“Are Slim-Fast bars ok?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, they’ll help you feel full and give you plenty of vitamins, so they are a healthy way to lose weight as long as you get other foods that you need.”

That did it for me. That was what I needed to hear. I bought a box to taste them. They were pretty good. My favorites are the Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Chunk, and especially the Oatmeal Raisin. And hey, Oatmeal is good for your heart too.

So don’t be scared of Slim-Fast. It costs me $60.00 a month to keep a supply of them around. However, that’s much cheaper than the cookies, chips, etc. that I used to eat.

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Blood Sugar: 148
Weight: 315.8 lbs
Fluids: Water and Diet Rite Tangerine
Meal 1:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage, Multivitamin, and Fiber Supplement
Snack 1:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Chocolate Chunk Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 2:
1 can of Chunky Vegetable Soup
2 pieces of Whole Wheat Toast with Butter
Snack 2:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Strawberry Cheesecake Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 3:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Blood Sugar: 139
Weight: 316.2 lbs
Fluids: Water and Diet Dr. Pepper
Meal 1:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage, Multivitamin, and Fiber Supplement
Snack 1:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Strawberry Cheesecake Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 2:
1 Cheeseburger
18 Tater Tots
Snack 2:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Oatmeal Raisin Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 3:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

That’s what I would have said and did say at the beginning of my diet. See, my weight went up this morning, from 315.2 yesterday to 316.2. I gained a whole pound. However, I’ve experienced more of this diet now, and I know better. First of all, I had only 6 hours of sleep last night. Lack of sleep matters. Second, I haven’t made it to the YMCA this week like I normally would. And third, it fluctuates.

Basically, this is what is going to happen. My weight should be about the same tomorrow morning. The next day, it will drop a seemingly great 2 pounds or so, which will put me below the 315.2 mark I’ve managed to get so far. I’m still losing weight, there are just many factors, even including the time of day that I weigh, that are affecting the weight at any given moment.

I am telling you this because it irritated me at the beginning of my diet. I thought I was doing something wrong. However, I wasn’t. I was still losing weight. I want you to understand, if you’re also on a diet, these things happen. This does not mean I’ve reached that dreaded “dieter plateau” where I stop losing. However, even when that time comes, I’ve got some ideas to take care of it.

So keep your hope, even when it gets discouraging, because as long as you stick to your diet and exercise, you’re doing the right thing. Every once in a while, you’ll have to modify it, but most of the time it’s just fluctuations. And as the dieter history says, if you are dieting, and you feel discouraged, feel free to e-mail me. I’ve created a special e-mail address so that your e-mails can get to me quickly. It’s “dieter”. Just put that in front of saphrym.com (without the quotes of course) and you’re good to go. I’ll gladly be your dieting partner.

I decided to share this with you instead of the Slim-Fast information today, since it happened and would be noticeable by you guys. I’ll tell you about Slim-Fast tomorrow.

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Blood Sugar: 150
Weight: 315.2 lbs
Fluids: Water and Diet Dr. Pepper
Meal 1:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage, Multivitamin, and Fiber Supplement
Snack 1:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Strawberry Cheesecake Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 2:
1 Chicken Breast with Parmesan/CornFlake coating
Rice-a-Roni
Green Beans
Snack 2:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Oatmeal Raisin Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 3:
Just under 2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1 cup of milk
Glucophage

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Ok. I got a picture taken. It was with my camera phone, so it’s not the best, but you should definitely be able to tell the difference. But first, the before from my Dieter History page:

Now the after:

That’s me as of a few minutes ago. I tried to do a similar pose as the other picture, and if you notice, it’s the exact same shirt: My Big Dog shirt. My weight yesterday was 316 lbs.

Today, this is my information (Meal means 60g. Snack means 45g. Of carbs that is.):

Diet Diary 09/27/2007

Blood Sugar: 136
Weight: 315.6 lbs
Fluids: Water and Diet Dr. Pepper
Meal 1:
Just under 2 cups of Cocoa Puffs with Marshmallows
1 cup of milk
Glucophage, Multivitamin, and Fiber Supplement
Snack 1:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Strawberry Cheesecake Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 2:
2 Tuna Sandwiches on Whole Wheat
1 Orange Creamsicle
Snack 2:
1 Slim Fast Bar (Oatmeal Raisin Slim-Fast Optima - 220 Calorie version)
1 cup of Milk
Meal 3:
Just under 2 cups of Cocoa Puffs with Marshmallows
1 cup of milk
Glucophage

So there’s a great first example of my current diet.

As for exercise, none today other than normal house cleaning. Same yesterday, and my meal was similar. However, I lost .6 pounds in one day. I’ll explain more about the Slim Fast bars tomorrow. I’ll give you a history of why I started eating them and exactly which ones I buy.

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve updated the Dieter History link. It’s right above this sentence and on the top menu. I’ve sucked in my pride and posted that picture. I’ve explained the problems I had and why I went on the diet. I also explained the diet, the pills I take, the exercise I do, etc. So go take a look at that page. Tomorrow begins the posting.

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No, that’s not an answer to some freaky version of Clue. It’s where I found an air conditioner.

See, after my escapade to Wal-Mart and Lowe’s yesterday, I swore my life as a cool human was over. Well, my life as a cool human is over depending on the definition of the word. But temperature wise, I was getting worried. Ok, so the weather was supposed to be colder come Thursday, and as a reader pointed out, that’s the same day the air conditioner guys are coming. But today, it became 90 degrees in my house.

90 degrees. Did I mention I love the heat? Parts of my house still are 90 degrees. But not where I’m sitting. See, a friend of mine told me to try Geno’s Taxi. I’ll repeat that: A friend of mine told me to try Geno’s Taxi. Now, not being from around here, I never thought to call a taxi company for an air conditioner. For a taxi maybe. Not an air conditioner. Well, they had one. A 6000 BTU air conditioner less than 26 inches wide that could fit in my storm window and provide a layer of coolness that the pet rock could never have provided. Even has a remote, which is nifty and all, but I doubt that sucker is going to be used at the moment as I want the air conditioner to stay on.

So right now I’m typing on my daughter’s laptop because it’s still 90 degrees in my bedroom where my computer is. But in here, with a blanket covering the archway, it’s about 75 degrees and dropping. There’s a fan behind me. I am in true bliss at this moment.

However, in about 5 minutes I’m going to have to go to the bathroom, and my daughter decided to use hot water when she took a shower earlier. If I don’t suffocate from the heat, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.

Moral of the story? When you need an air conditioner, don’t go to Wal-Mart who carries heaters in 90 degree weather. Go to your local taxi company. They are much smarter about such things.

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The air conditioner went out. Picks the three hottest days at this point to be out until the guys can come and fix it. Yay. Heat. I dare say I love it dearly. *drips with sarcasm*¹

So, we decided to go look for some window units. My daughter, wife, and I put our shoes on. We have those neat little rubber shoes with holes in them. I can’t remember what they’re called, but they have good arch support and work like sandals. This is good for me as my feet like to sweat a lot. Anyway, we load up into my best friend’s Cadillac because our van is not working very well and we’ve been borrowing his car. (That’s a whole other rant that deals with being swindled out of money from a mechanic. I’ll share if you really want me to.) We borrowed his car for two reasons: 1. To not have to keep filling our van with power steering fluid. 2. For air conditioning because that’s also broke on our van. (Yet another rant.) However, while borrowing it, his air conditioner stopped working also, so in 90 degree weather, we’re off to the stores. I love heat.

We pull up to Wal-Mart and practically run inside. However, my feet decided to sweat anyway, and for some reason feet don’t like to stay still on wet rubber. It’s quite slick. So, I’ll correct that, we STUMBLED inside of Wal-Mart. We head to the area where the fans and air conditioners are, and in their place, as determined by the marketing genius of the Wal-Mart corporation, are heaters. Little heaters. Big heaters. Skinny heaters. Heaters with remote controls. Heaters that use propane. Heaters that use electricity. If I was in the market for a heater, they’d have it. I ask someone where the air conditioners and fans are. “We don’t have any. But we have Christmas trees on sale.” I hope he was kidding. I love the heat.

We stumble back to the car, footprints of sweat trailing us, and head to Lowe’s. It’s only a block away. “They’ll have air conditioners. They’re Lowe’s. They’re big. They carry more of stuff like that.” At this point I’m wearing a shirt that is purely made of salt water molecules. It has transformed. I’ll call it my “ocean shirt.” So, we walk in and the air conditioner there creates an “iceberg shirt.” I’m now happy. I’m going to get an air conditioner. I walk to where the air conditioners are, and guess what I find? Heaters. Little ones. Big ones. Skinny ones. You know the drill. Of course, an aisle away are Christmas trees. I find someone and ask him where the air conditioners are. “We don’t have any. Want a tree?” I love heat.

So now, I sit at the computer in my renewed “ocean shirt” waiting for Thursday to come. That’s when the air conditioner guys come to fix ours. If they offer me a tree, I’m buying a rifle.

UPDATE: Found this site, and its ideas actually work: How to Cool Yourself Without Air Conditioning

1. The *something between the asterisks* method of typing is usually used in Internet chat as a way of portraying an action the writer is taking. [«]

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(For more information about my dieting and weight loss, click here.)

Currently I weigh 317 pounds. You read that right, 317. I’m not proud of the fact I’m overweight, but I’m proud of the fact that only a little over a month ago I weighed 355 pounds. So, in just over a month, I’ve lost 38 pounds. Wanna know how I did it? Well, I’ve got a surprise for you:

In a couple of days I will not only tell you how I’ve done it, but also will keep you up to date on how I’m continuing to do it. And unlike all of those “weight loss” programs on the Internet and television, I’m going to tell you for free.

What do I get out of it? Your visits here. And if you feel like the information is good to you, then you can always contribute, but only if you like the information.

And just to let you know, I am diabetic and have dropped over 140 blood sugar points in the same amount of time. I’ll be telling you all about that too. So keep your eyes on this blog. It’s going to be a wild ride full of weight loss information, entertaining stories, and tears of joy as I get closer to my goal, and hopefully you do too with the information I provide.

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