Very Inspirational

I remember being a huge fan of DDP back when he was a WWE wrestler. I really enjoyed watching him.  Total badass.

Enough so that when my friend basically named my cat DDP, I was totally on board with it.

I knew DDP had worked with one person before, Arthur, and although it was truly inspirational, I considered this a great example for his marketing for the DDP Yoga series.  Not that it was fake or anything, just that it was given a lot of hype likely due to marketing.

But then I saw this... From Jared. Another story, just like Arthur's, but this one rang very close to me.  I've never been as large as Arthur, but the message was very powerful to me.  I saw that it was on DDP's channel and again, inspirational but strong with marketing.

But then I saw boogie2988's reaction. This one is not marketing, and I know that because boogie2988 has been honest and sincere since I started watching him.

It includes shots of DDP working with boogie2988.

Now, I know this is still marketing. I know that this is a way for DDP to push his product and to get the word out there...

... but it's also changing lives in what I see as an honest, moral, and effective way. Not just for positive influence, but for life; living.

This may just be the exercise regime that I need. Even through the marketing hype, seeing boggie2988's honest reaction really hit home to me.  If he believes in it, and I see the effort and effect from Arthur's and Jared's experience, I think I'm in.

But this of course means I may need to get a damn DVD player now. What is this, 1999 ?!

Still here... holidays...

Still here. Will resume after the holidays.

Admittedly, I'm using this time to well... eat whatever and relax.  I know that if I try to start now, I'll hardcore fail once I participate in holiday festivities.

But after January 7th (Russian Christmas), it's back on.

Minor setback?

I've been doing research this weekend on the Dukan diet. A few things I wasn't aware of:

• A Food Network post speaks very poorly about this diet.
• "High protein diets can lead to kidney failure, dehydrates and overconsumption of unhealthy fats (like saturated) and cholesterol, which have been linked to heart disease."
• "Side effects of constipation, bad breath, dry mouth and fatigue."
• A USNews Health report rates it very low in regards to health making it risky.
• "No clinical trials have evaluated the Dukan Diet"
• "Shutting out entire food groups, namely grains and fruit, might also put you at risk for nutritional deficiencies."
• "...you may experience lethargy, bad breath, dry mouth, and constipation when on Dukan—notorious side effects of low-carb diets."
• Apparently there is a "pay to play" website dedicated to it in which the 'inventor' charges for advice and monitoring. 
• Most of the blogs I could find following their progress started very high in 2011, but then I couldn't find any in 2015 that post progress or additional advice.

So I fear that Dukan is out. It was a fad, and I'm just late to the party.

The good news is that I've found what I feel to be an extremely comprehensive website that will likely point me to a better, if not safer, dieting plan: USNews Best Diets 2015.  To reiterate: extremely comprehensive.

To make this work, I need to kick off with something trust-worthly, trackable, and most importantly, effective.  Another words, if I don't see progress in a week or so, even a little, I fear I'll end up reverting back to my old ways.  I have strong will-power as long as I see progress.  The moment that progress is undetectable, you can bet I'll be back on couch potato mode in a heartbeat.

I've emailed Marshall Brain in the hopes that he can shed some light on his progress and that perhaps he's moved into the final stage and it's effective.  We'll see.

Also - I've tracked down measurements I need to keep during the diet. For calories, fat, sugar, protein and the like, I'm going to use MyFitnessPal. It's how I lost 80 pounds before, so I know it'll be worth it. I plan to use the pre-made excel file [HERE] called the "MFP Data Export Tool" for the charts.  No sense in building my own if a pro has already done it. 

What to measure: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/07/how-to-track-progress/

• How to measure neck
• How to measure shoulders
• How to measure chest
• How to measure waist
• How to measure hips
• How to measure thigh

Use Bodytrack.it to track body measurements.

Still not sure when to start. Considering the holidays coming up, my "control group" period may extend until after New Years.  Russians have their Christmas feast on New Years so I've got three major over-stuff meals coming my way.  Open to suggestions for those already reading this blog.  

Outstanding to-do's: 

• Determine the best diet for me.  [Thought I had this, but back to the drawing board]
• Determine meals [... and how do I eat out during lunch?]
• Outline steps/tasks - daily-weekly-monthly
• Pictures [I think Bodytrack.it will handle this nicely but this is on the list until I test it]
• Dates - When to start

WHO and processed meats...

I may need to spend more time looking into this, but I'm concerned that my proposed diet plan may be at risk considering the WHO's latest campaign:

Processed and Red Meat Could Cause Cancer?

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/26/451950828/processed-and-red-meat-could-cause-cancer-your-questions-answered?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

Over the next week or so...

Over the next week or two, I plan to eat the same and be as active as I have been for the past 6 months. The idea is that I have some meal data and activity data (which I haven't beentracking) to compare with what I change. 

So KFC buffet and Mexican is in! (Woot!)

After eating last night, I couldn't help shake the idea that I can't remember having hunger pangs. Marshall Brain mentioned that as a thing throughout his posts and videos. I think I had them the last time I dieted but I more often felt light headed, which is what I'm hoping to avoid with this new approach. 

So this is where things may get a bit personal or graphic. Last night I slept on my side and felt my belly against my arm. It disgusted me. Maybe it shouldn't, but it did. Got to change that. 

On with the day! 

Wait, how did I gain 3 pounds since yesterday?! Oh yeah, pizza. 

Sick and tired of being sick and tired...

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired..."
I heard Dave Ramsey say it often when listening to his show many years ago.  I'd link to his site here, but let's just say his ideas and my ideas on humanity are, quite a bit different these days.

So what is this about?

I'm 238 pounds.  That's what this is about. I'm fat. It's time to change that.

Hold your praises and patting to the end.  I'm fat, and I know it.  There's nothing wrong with being fat if that's who you are and you're comfortable with it.  I get frustrated when people assume the word is a negative word.

Let's look at that for a moment. According to Merriam-Webster:

Fat: having a lot of extra flesh on your body, having a lot of body fat, having a full, rounded form, unusually wide or thick.

Well folks, that's me; physically anyway.
But that's not me.
That's not who I want to be.

Let me correct that... That's not how I want to look.

Being fat doesn't define me.
But being fat makes me uncomfortable.

Time to change that.

This is the beginning, again. (More on that later - maybe another day.)

My plan:

• Start a blog to track my thoughts throughout this quest.
• Research a bit more on the Dukan diet Marshall Brain discusses from time-to-time in his podcast How Stuff Works.
• Determine a fun way to track this quest.
• Determine metrics I should track.
• Meals meals meals - How/what/when should I eat. 
• Outline steps/tasks
• Pictures
• Dates - When to start

Before I start killing myself with bad data/approaches, I need to investigate. 

Until then, pizza awaits. #ThisIsWhyImFat