2 Weeks Down, 2.4 Pounds GAINED, Restaurant Week Enjoyed! :)

Anyone reading is welcomed (and encouraged) to send me their weekly weight so we can track together and motivate each other to continue to lose weight. "Alex - Projected" would be my weight loss of 40 pounds by my birthday on 6/12, at a steady 1.9 pounds per week. "Alex - Actual" is my actual weight loss. I can also post your weight anonymously if you prefer, such as my good friend "Benny Platinum", whose true identity will remain a secret! Also, you may have noticed that "Judy" doesn't actually weigh 0 pounds. She's opted to only send in her weight changes, so we'll track from a starting point of zero pounds. You're all welcome to pursue this option as well if you don't want to give your actual weight. We'll make a nice colored line on the graph for you too!


2 Weeks Down, 2.4 Pounds GAINED, Restaurant Week Enjoyed! :)

The upside of this past week is that I LOVE NYC RESTAURANT WEEK! $35.00 prix fix for an appetizer, entrée and dessert at NYC's best restaurants just can't be beat. The downside? Restaurant week and my scale are mortal enemies, destined to battle to the death within the confines of kitchen stadium...

For those who looked at the graph above before reading this post, 10 points! For the rest of us who don't follow the rules, I did, in fact, GAIN 2.4 pounds this week! EEK! Well, not really eek, maybe a little eek with a side of "oh well" (or a side of fries, I like those too). Honestly, I don't expect to lose weight every week from now until June, though it would look good on my graph. The reality is, sometimes life (i.e. Restaurant Week, feeling sick, stress at work/home/anywhere, free meals and a billion other things) get in the way of the best laid plans.

So why am I not freaking out about it? Because I'm still 1.8 pounds lighter than when I started this endeavor, and there were a lot of really good things weight related that happened this week:

• I TRACKED ALL THE FOOD I ATE on WeightWatchers. Yes even that pint of ice cream (Hagen Daaz Caramel Cone, mmm) got tracked. And in my defense, I ate it over the course of two days, not all in one sitting. My weekly points looked something like this. Pay special attention to the two red circles:

• "Red Circle -104" So let's say I get 49 points a day, plus an extra 49 points to spread over the week. What the -104 means is that in ADDITION to my 49 daily and weekly points, I ate an EXTRA 104 points, or about 2 extra days worth of food. I'll keep tracking how far over/under I am on my weekly points and see how that correlates to weight loss over time.

• "Red Circle 4-4-4" I GOT TO THE GYM THIS WEEK! Not once, not twice, but THRICE! Each time I did 40 minutes at a medium pace on the elliptical (and watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica). Getting to the gym at all, even in the midst of a week of serious eating, is a VERY big improvement for me!

Since I did gain this week, I feel that I owe it to you all to explain exactly what restaurant week has done to me, by listing the best dish I had at each restaurant I went to. (Disclaimer: For those in shock right now, I did say this blog would be about "my experiences with food", both good and bad. This week happened to be realllyyy good). I've included pictures where possible. 

• Nobu Next Door: Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce. This is still hands down the best rock shrimp temppura I've ever had. The shrimp are lightly battered and plated in a tower-like manner in a deep round dish, with a creamy lime sauce and greens on top. I've eaten a lot of rock shrimp tempura, and it really doesn't get any better than this.

Rock Shrimp Tempura

Nobu Next Door

• Russian Tea Room: Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Blinchiki. From their menu,"Chestnut crepe filled with mushrooms and melted onions topped with duck rillettes and finished with duck pomegranate reduction." So The Russian Tea Room wasn't actually on my original restaurant week list, though I ended up there to hear Jerry Spring (yes, Jerry Springer) speak at a Hudson Union Society event. He was actually very interesting and articulate, and pretty much acknowledged that his TV show was crap. He spoke about the current political landscape, the evolution of media and his time as mayor of Cincinnati. The actual best part of my meal though was the Russian Standard Vodka Dirty Martini with Extra Olives. The Russians sure do know what to do with their vodka. 

The Russian Tea Room

Jerry, Jerry!

• Nougatine at Jean Georges. This was hands down my favorite meal, for both the taste and presentation, so I'm going to have to describe three dishes. The Grilled Shrimp with Carrot Ginger Puree was literally the best shrimp I have EVER had. I don't know what they coated the shrimp in before grilling, but the outside was crisp and a tiny bit salty, while the shrimp themselves were tender and juicy, with just the right amount of shrimpy seafood taste. The dish was covered with roasted pumpkin seeds to boot. For dessert we had the famous Jean-Georges Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Now a LOT of people and restaurants have tried to recreate this dish, but Jean-George really just still nails it. The cake on the outside is firm and coated in powdered sugar, but contains a molten chocolate lava flow of deliciousness on the inside. Personally, I like to make this recipe at home with Hershey's chocolate instead of the fancy shmancy Valrhona, but that's just because I like my chocolate desserts less subtle and more sweet. We also ordered with dessert the Black Cherry-Yuzu Soda. I might develop a serious addiction to this drink. It's like Orangina but less outright sweet, and black cherry-yuzu flavored instead of orange. And as an added bonus, Jean-Georges himself was actually walking around the restaurant talking to guests, so small celebrity sighting there! All in all, the food, presentation, atmosphere, and my date were all delightful :) 

Grilled Shrimp with Carrot Ginger Puree

Jean-Georges Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Black Cherry-Yuzu Soda

Nougatine @ Jean Georges

• The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel: Truffled Tater Tots with Peach Ketchup. Now, I'm a sucker for tater tots, and darn my American blood, I LOVE ketchup. (Don't tell anyone but I used to eat cocktail sauce by itself before I learned it was just ketchup and horseradish. After that, I couldn't quite justify it.) But add truffle to the tater tots and peach to the ketchup, and we're not in Kansas anymore Toto. The tots were the perfect amount of crispy, and instead of your traditional tater tot crust, they had a much thinner, less granular outer layer. The peach ketchup really tasted just like peach flavored Heinz (this is a BIG compliment in my book, I love Heinz and when most restaurants try to make their own ketchup it tastes like crap), and complimented the tots perfectly. 

The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel

Well if you're still reading this, then you must be a foodie too! You might also now understand how much I love good food, and why losing weight during restaurant week is going to be difficult. Also if you're interested in a great food blog (with no mention of losing weight), check out http://YentaLovesToNosh.blogspot.com

Lastly, in addition to restaurant week, my wonderful girlfriend got us a French Country cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education. A class of 17 of us made some very delicious dishes, and then ate them all. We may have also invaded the Steakhouse and Strudel classes next door and asked for their leftovers :) It looked something like this:

Sausage and onions simmering on the stove. We burned this, but it still tasted great.

Here I am painstakingly filling empanadas one by one

The finished product!

Our feast! Not shown is the chocolate mousse

As I look to the week ahead, which still includes dinners at Le Cirque and One If By Land, Two If By Sea, and of course the Super Bowl, my goals are to continue to track everything I eat, get to the gym two or three times, and enjoy some of the finest restaurants in New York!

1 Week Down, 4.2 Pounds Lost, 34.5 Pounds To Go!

REMINDER: Anyone reading is welcomed (and encouraged) to send me their weekly weight so we can track together and motivate each other to continue to lose weight. "Alex - Projected" would be my weight loss of 40 pounds by my birthday on 6/12, at a steady 1.9 pounds per week. "Alex - Actual" is my actual weight loss. I can also post your weight anonymously if you prefer! A special thank you goes out to the Amherst Biology Department for teaching me how to make graphs in Excel, and for showing me that when you put two crawfish in a tank together, they will in fact fight to the death! It's really gruesome, I don't recommend it.

1 Week Down, 4.2 Pounds Lost, 34.5 Pounds To Go!

First of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who's written to support the blog and share their own weight loss stories, challenges and goals. And especially to everyone who's holding me accountable to this weight loss plan by following the blog! To follow the blog, click here:  . For anyone just joining the blog, I'm publicly shaming myself into losing almost 40 pounds by my birthday on 6/12, and sharing my attempt with the world!

All in all, Week 1 has been a success, with 4.2 pounds lost! How'd I do it? Liposuction! Kiidddiinng, and I've heard lipo leaves you with some really nasty skin flapping about in the breeze. I actually just stuck to my plan, only ate when I was hungry, stopped eating when I was full, and tracked my WeightWatchers points. I will admit though that I didn't make it to the gym this week, but I'll be forced to go next week (see below).

My WW points for the week:

As you may have noticed, zeros across the board for "Activity Point" (i.e. exercise) this week. Like I said, I love to eat almost as much as I hate going to the gym.

I was especially surprised to learn this week how little food it actually takes, when eaten slowly, to make me feel full. A salad that I would have usually eaten all in one sitting was eaten over the course of an afternoon, and each time I stopped eating when I felt full. As my roommate put it,"So your plan is to stop eating when you're full? So you mean you're going to eat like a normal person."

His comment made me start thing about this idea of only eating until you're full, and not eating everything on the plate, which in turn made me think (if only I could just think myself into losing weight!) about this: If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say that portion size in America is probably one of the biggest reasons we're all so fat. Restaurants keep "super-sizing" their meals in an attempt to satisfy customers and probably out super-size their competition. If we grow up thinking that a double cheeseburger with fries or a giant bowl of pasta is what we should be eating for each meal, how are we really expected to have any idea what sized serving is actually enough to make us feel full? I know I certainly didn't.

I've also heard complaints that at some "finer dining" restaurants the portions seem small, but the reality is, does anyone actually leave hungry? No! So I'm challenging everyone to try the following experiment this week. Next time you're at a restaurant or getting fast food, try eating only half what they give you, but chew your food slowly and give your body time to digest and feel full. I think you'll be surprised at how little food it takes to fill you up and make you feel satiated. You'll also end up with an assortment of decorative doggy bags to display around your house from all the leftovers you'll take home! 

I'm dividing the rest of this post into two sections:

Tricks/Tips from the Week

On portion control, from my Dad: Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal. You'll feel less hungry when you start eating and eat less as a result. Also, dehydration and hunger can be easy to confuse, so make sure you're drinking water throughout the day. 

On motivating yourself to exercise, from my brother: Hate the idea of actually breaking a sweat and exercising? The largest hurdle actually tends to be getting yourself to the gym, not working out once you're there. So think of it this way: Your only goal is NOT to do a workout, but to get yourself physically to the gym and on a machine. Once you're on the machine, work out for ONLY 1 MINUTE. (I mean really, who can't do a 1 MINUTE workout). If after a minute, you still really don't want to be working out, get off the machine and go home feeling guilt free, knowing that you at least put in the effort to get yourself the the gym, and you really weren't in the mood to do a workout.

The # of times my brother's gotten himself to the gym and then not worked out: 0. While this seems like an obvious mental trick, it can be much easier to motivate yourself to physically get to the gym when you mentally give yourself the opportunity to leave if you still don't want to work out once you're there. The truth is, once you're there you'll probably get in a solid work out, just don't tell yourself that beforehand!

On being addicted to TV, from me: I watch A LOT of TV. Even though I don't actually own a television or have cable, Hulu and Netflix feed my addiction. I also really like science fiction shows, and have unfortunately just gotten into Battlestar Galactica (it's cool, I'm a dork and I know it)! The problem is, there are 76 episodes of Battlestar that I now feel compelled to watch, so I've made a deal with myself. Battlestar's going to be my workout show, which I will ONLY watch when I'm at the gym. So if I'm having a craving for some good old alien/robot shoot 'em ups, I'll be watching from the elliptical. Also I've never really watched TV/movies while I've worked out, and it really takes your mind off a 40 minute workout! I suggest everyone should become addicted to a new series and make it their Workout Show.

Upcoming Challenges

This week and next, my biggest challenge will be staying within my Weight Watchers points. Why? Because today begins NYC Restaurant Week, where New York City's best restaurants offer $35 prix fix dinners that could otherwise cost triple digits. If you live in NYC, I highly suggest checking it out at NYC Restaurant Week (click the link to go). 

So far I have reservations at:

• Petrossian (French/Russian/New American)
• Nobu Next Door (Japanese)
• BONDST (Japanese)
• Atlantic Grill (Seafood)
• Nougatine at Jean Georges (New American)
• David Burke Townhouse (New American)
• Matsugen (Japanese)
• The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel (New American)
• Megu (Japanese)
• Le Cirque (French)
• Asia de Cuba (Asian/Cuban)
• China Grill (Asian Fusion)
• One if by Land, Two if by Sea (New American)
• Fishtail by David Burke (Seafood/New American)

Realistically, I'll probably cancel half the reservations (for both diet and budget reasons)! But eating out even half the nights in a week can really put a damper on weight loss. The only potential upside is that restaurant week portions tend to be smaller than usual, though they all include dessert.

So my resolution is that for each restaurant I go to, I have to go to the gym that day. Will my workout burn off everything I eat at the restaurants? When pigs fly. But it's better than not working out at all, and I'm certainly not missing Restaurant Week :)

Keep the comments coming and let me know if you'd like to join my weight loss adventure! So far, having this blog has been great motivation to watch what I eat. Maybe it could work for you too?

My First Post

Dear friends, family and whoever else stumbles across this blog,

As of today, I am officially OBESE! When the scale hit 222.2 pounds this morning, I did some quick calculations and learned something only somewhat unexpected. While I was off doing something else (probably eating), my Body Mass Index (BMI) jumped the fence and landed in a big pile of OBESITY, i.e. a BMI of 30.1. For those unfamiliar with calculating your BMI, just enter your hight and weight at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

So what’s wrong with being obese?

I mean, everybody in America’s doing it. It’s totally what the cool kids are doing in the back parking lot while they’re skipping class. Scarily enough though, in 2008, 33.8% of Americans were obese. If you look at the statistics for obese and overweight (BMI >24.9) Americans combined, it jumps to a whopping 64.1-72.3%! So only about 30% of Americans are what the CDC considers a “Normal Weight” (you can also be underweight if your BMI’s less than 18.5, which means less than 30% of Americans are what I would call a healthy weight).

According to the CDC, “Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes”. Hmm, now those don’t sound like too much fun to me. Nor does having my belly hang over my bathing suit at the beach (though I’ve been told it makes a VERY comfortable pillow). Also, I have manboobs. They’re small (totally not copping a feel of my own chest right now…all I’ll say is it hasn’t gotten to the point where they’re folding over themselves) but they’re noticeable, and gross.

Why am I excited about this?

Because becoming obese is a milestone that I promised myself if I ever hit, I would have to do something about. While I’m not thrilled that I’ve hit that milestone, I think the idea of actually being obese will give me motivation to watch what I eat, get my lazy ass to the gym and lose weight.

Also, I’m very lucky to be six feet tall and have a VERY broad frame, which means I carry my weight very well. On the downside (well, downside in the motivation department, upside in the mental health department), I don’t look in the mirror and think, “holy shit, how’d that whale get into my bathroom? Someone call a crane, we’re gonna need hydraulics to get this sucker off the beach.” Moral of the story, actually being obese will give me more motivation to lose weight than looking in the mirror.

So why am I sharing this publicly on a blog?

The simple reason: I'm planning to publicly shame myself into losing weight by allowing the whole world to follow my weight loss progress. It's also:

• An INVITATION to friends, family and the whole world to start your own weight loss/exercise/health blog (or send me your weekly weight and I'll post it, with your name or anonymously).
• A CHALLENGE to anyone else who wants to lose weight to see if you can lose weight and keep it off faster than I can.
• AND THE BIGGEST REASON: This blog is MOTIVATION to follow through on what I’m very publicly saying I’m going to do. Simply put, I look like a huge ass if I start this entire blog to lose weight, then either give up on it or gain more weight (and huge asses are what we’re trying to avoid here)!

What’s my plan?

Thanks go out to Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body, for the following “four principles of failure-proofing behavior”, or in my case, failure-proofing weight loss:

1. Make it conscious.
2. Make it a game.
3. Make it competitive.
4. Make it small and temporary.

So what I’ll be actually doing is:

Make it conscious

• Following the eating principles of Paul McKenna’s book “I Can Make You Thin”. Basically, focus on your food when you're eating it and stop eating when you think you're no longer hungry. See addendum for details on these principles.
• “Before” and “during/after” photos. Taaaddddaaaaaa, here's a somewhat recent picture. This is the epitome of me lounging around, being lazy and eating a burger. And yes, that's an inflatable pool we set up on the roof.

Make it a game

• Tracking daily food intake on WeightWatchers.com
• Tracking my weekly weight

Make it competitive

• Here’s where I NEED YOUR HELP. I’m looking for people who also want to lose weight to join me in this endeavor. Start your own blog, or alternatively, send me your weight every week and I’ll post a table of who’s lost weight for the week along with my weight. We can make up undercover secret names if you’d rather your real name not be shared with the world. I have dibs on Sleuthly McForkenstein.

Make it small and temporary

• Do 20 minutes on the elliptical twice a week. That’s it for exercise, for now.
• Cancel my membership to the “Clean Plate” club
• Start this blog (check!)

What’s my ultimate goal?

By my 27^th birthday, which is almost exactly 5 months away (6/12/2011), I will lower my BMI to a “Normal Weight” value of 24.9. In pounds, this means losing 38.7 pounds over the course of 20 weeks, for a total weight of 183.5. Sounds like a big number, but it averages out to 1.9 pounds per week.

I’d also like to reduce my % body fat (currently 27.6%) to around 12-15% body fat, where you begin to see muscle definition (particularly in the abs). Because it’s easier to measure weight and set weekly weight loss goals, I’ll measure my progress in pounds but continue to measure my % body fat.

I know this kind of weight loss is possible, because I’ve done it exactly once before in my life. I first started tracking my weight when I joined Weight Watchers on October 22, 2005, when oddly enough, my weight was exactly what it is today, 222.2 pounds. 5 months later, on April 1^st, 2006, I was down to 179 pounds. As you can see below, my weight has fluctuated since then, but it’s been on a pretty steady upwards trend.

Why will this be a challenge?

I’m a huge foodie. Some of my favorites are hamburgers, foie gras, cheese fondue, any type of sushi, Nutella, LOVVEE french fries, brussel sprouts (not kidding, I think these are delicious) and anything with hazelnuts. I LOVE food, almost almost almost as much as I HATE exercise. I also live in New York City, where I basically eat take-out for breakfast, lunch and dinner (literally, there are weeks where I don’t go to the grocery store, all my meals are take out).

Also, I work for an Advertising Agency, which means our clients come to our offices frequently. These visits ALWAYS include food. There’s pretty much a constant flow of taco bars, deli sandwiches, pastries, pasta dishes, salads, cookies and snacks at my office. And self control’s not my thing when it comes to food.

I was also raised as a member of the speed eating clean plate club. I never got any “starving children in Africa” speeches, but lunch growing up was a half hour of socializing inserted between classes at school, and dinner was a quickly eaten meal inserted between afterschool activities and homework. As much as I love the taste of food, I never learned to slow my eating and enjoy the meal. Just finish what’s on your plate and move on to the next activity! If you don’t believe me, read this: When my mother got remarried, we only half jokingly sat down her new husband (a “normal” paced eater), and explained that if he didn’t take his food from the serving dish at the start of the meal, there wouldn’t be any left for him!

I also don’t like to exercise. While I always feel great when I leave the gym, getting myself there is nearly impossible.

How can you help me lose weight?

Follow my blog and comment on my posts! Click the "Follow" button on the top right of the blog post window (right above the pictures of people following the blog). You can follow the blog by using your Google, Twitter, Yahoo!, AIM, Netlog or OpenID accounts. Remember the whole point of this is that I'm now accountable to everyone I know to follow through on this weight loss plan. Commenting will let me know who I'm accountable to! Also I'd be happy to hear any weight loss tips, recipe suggestions, workouts/sports/exercise you enjoy doing, etc.

You can also compete with me! Send me your updated weight every week and I'll post it on the blog (remember, secret names are welcome if you'd rather not reveal your identity). Or better yet, start your own similar blog to post your weight loss journey (www.blogger.com). I promise I'll follow you!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates on my progress!

----Alex

Addendum

Paul McKenna’s book “I Can Make You Thin”

Paul McKenna is essentially the Dr. Phil of the UK, and I highly recommend his book I Can Make You Thin. His weight loss program is very simple:

1. When you are hungry, EAT
2. EAT WHAT YOU WANT, not what you think you should eat
3. Eat CONSCIOUSLY and enjoy every mouthful (i.e. slow down your eating)
4. When you think you are full, STOP eating

This is also coupled with the following Hunger Scale:

1. Physically faint
2. Ravenous
3. Fairly hungry
4. Slightly hungry
5. Neutral
6. Pleasantly satisfied
7. Full
8. Stuffed
9. Bloated
10. Nauseous

The idea is to eat when you're at a 3-4, stop eating when you reach 6-7, and try to avoid the extremes. Eating more slowly and focusing on your food helps you to realize where you are on the scale. You also learn to identify emotional eating and make sure you eat when you're hungry, not just when you want to change the way you feel. There's also a hypnosis CD that uses Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) to help you lose weight. I'm a strong believer in NLP and highly recommend this book specifically because of the hypnosis CD.

The problem with this system though, is I rarely have time to focus on the food when I'm eating, especially at work. I usually grab lunch between meetings or eat at my desk while I'm working on something else. This makes it hard to stop eating when I'm hungry. There's also a ton of delicious free food sitting around my offfice.

So in addition to Paul McKenna's technique, I'll also be tracking what I eat on WeightWatchers.com (WW). If you're unfamiliar with WW, they have a formula for calculating the nutritional value of food as a combination of fat, fiber, carbs and protein. Every food has a number (or a point value), and you get a certain number of points per day. I get 49 points a day, plus an extra 49 to use anytime during the week. The idea is to only eat when I'm hungry, but no matter what, avoid going over my weekly WW points allowance. This should ensure weight loss IF I stick to it.