Diet Update: End of August 2013

I have become so obsessed with my weight that I've already run down the battery on my weeks-old scale.

It's a little fuzzy on when my renewed diet really started because I had been in the Nutrisystem auto-delivery program when my doctor wanted me to go lower-carb probably earlier summer. I was in a "good carb" program, but when your doctor wants you to cut down to about 50 grams a day, it ruled out Nutrisystem; I still had nearly a month of food that I wasn't going to throw out, so it probably wasn't until early last month that I was back on my own regimen. I had already been been more stringent since an unrelated earlier trip to the doctor roughly six months back (I'm going by 90-day refills of my thyroid medication). I probably lost about 13 pounds by the time he wanted me on the reduced carb regimen and by my scale I've probably lost another 16 since then, roughly a 1.5-2 lb. clip a week that most doctors consider a healthy rate. I have over 50 to go to hit my doctor's target (I need to lose more than that, but it's a good interim target). Clearly I won't reach that by year end at this pace; I'm a little frustrated because 10 years ago I was dropping weight at nearly twice the pace seemingly effortlessly. I think it probably has more to do with slowing metabolism as we age.

I'm not going to criticize Nutrisystem here. In fact, I lost 40 pounds in the early months of a long-term commitment. What happened? Two things: first, I had gone off my thyroid medication because of a lapse between doctor visits; second, discipline. Nutrisystem only covers a portion of the diet; you have to supplement with fresh foods (like fruits, vegetables, breads and beverages). To a certain extent, even though Nutrisystem offers a variety of meal alternatives, it can get tedious, and I found myself adding certain meats, eggs, and other items to my shopping cart. I don't think I ever binged my way to regaining the weight, but I have to conclude a relaxed dietary regimen, reduced metabolism, and inconsistent exercise all contributed to a stealth increase.

I'm now far more disciplined and motivated. One of my favorite meals in my new routine is to take a freshly grilled turkey burger and add it to a bed of low-calorie angel hair Miracle Noodles, mix in some stewed tomatoes and add some splashes of hot sauce.

I occasionally use a meal substitute mix, particularly if I don't wake up hungry. I have used Garden of Life products in the past and noticed they had a newer product out called Raw Protein. I was curious how it was served, customer reviews, etc., so I think I found some information on Amazon's website. It seemed customers whom mixed it with water were unhappy with the taste; one customer said the taste was passable with ice tea (familiar readers know I drink a lot of ice tea, so this intrigued me). I included a canister in my last order with my favorite low-carb Internet vendor, and I decided to use almond milk. It's definitely more of an acquired taste, but not unpleasant; I don't drink it daily, maybe a couple of times a week to vary my breakfast routine.