day 2... its on now.

i thought of another thing that i like to do to help bring the weight down, though it may sound a bit strange... whenever im walking, i make a very intentional point of walking with a straight back, shoulders back and head high, and i flex my stomach (not "sucking it in", more like flexing your abs as if you were doing crunches... you should be able to breathe without difficulty). there are actually multiple reasons to do this too... it helps with the physical image you put out - its body language telling whoever is looking that you are proud and self confident. even if this is not the case, itll help put that out there. additionally, when you pass by a mirror or reflective window, youll see that image of yourself with you back straight and stomach clenched, and you will look thinner! thats a guarantee... you will look thinner... your stomach is going to look a lot flatter. that helps me feel like this whole weight loss near-torture im putting myself through is working. and in truth, you will notice the actual changes in things like your waistline, stomach, and chest as you lose the weight much easier that way than the way you usually walk. the main reason i do this - youre flexing muscles you wouldnt usually use, and thus burning a few extra calories that you should and will never count. its like they say, fidgeting while sitting helps burn off calories unconsciously, so does this, especially when you make it a habit. sometimes when im sitting at my desk at work, or whatever, when it occurs to me, ill flex my stomach and hold it as long as i can, or as long as i remember to keep doing so. just more calories burned half consciously, without taking any extra time out of your day. but dont eat more to make up for the calories! just pretend like you sat around and burned nothing. the benefit, while small, is none the less there. every little thing counts.

moving on... im finding that the hardest parts of my day are after meal 4 (afternoon snack), before dinner. this is probably because it is the longest span of time between meals - around 3.5 to 4 hours. the other difficult time is in the evening before bed. i try to avoid eating after about 8pm at all costs (its not good to still have food in your stomach when you go to sleep), and that can sometimes lead to hunger before bed. i ignore these, though, and stick to the plan. will power is what its all about in weight loss, ive found. you let the will power slack too often, and its all a failure. have to be strong! and thats why i have this... if i feel like i have support, or people expecting me to stay in the game, ill do it.

i added a couple little sections to the side bar - "goals" and "the rules", plus my "stats". ill keep adding to these as i see them, but its using mainly just these things to lose the weight... its what worked for me before, so im doing it again.

i do other little things from time to time (like the flexing thing above), but i dont consider them goals or rules... just things i throw in from time to time to help.

ok - todays stats:

weight: 192.4
vitamin?: yes
fiber intake: 30g
water intake: 68 oz.

meal 1: Quaker Weight Contol oatmeal - cinnamon, 5 fiber capsules w/ water, coffee. Total Calories - 178

meal 2: Dannon Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt - mixed berry, 5 fiber capsules w/ water. Total Calories - 159

meal 3: Lean Cuisine Thai Style Chicken, Quaker low fat chewy granola bar - peanut butter. Total Calories - 310

meal 4: large Granny Smith apple, beef jerky, tea, 5 fiber capsules w/ water. Total Calories: 176

meal 4.5: i got too hungry to wait for dinner, so i snacked on precisely 33 grapes. yes, i counted. Total Calories - 53

meal 5: homemade chicken parmesan, spaghetti, pasta sauce, 2 crescent rolls, can of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. Total Calories - 957

TOTAL CALORIES FOR THE DAY: 1784

score. im feelin pretty good too... tasty dinner. very impressed with my wifes homemade chicken parmesan. thats why i leave 1000 calories for meal 5!!! so good. im stuffed right now; the key is staying not hungry until bed. tough. very tough. if i get real hungry, maybe ill chew on a piece of sugar free gum. doesnt really supress the hunger, but it helps a little bit.

hey, that reminds me of another thing ive found that sometimes helps me. especially because i only go around 3 hours between eating each time. so after eating, its usually about an hour to an hour and a half later before the lowest level of hunger begins. the kind that its possible to ignore. another half hour after that, its not so easy to forget about. drink a good amount of water. like 10-20 oz of water. it will fill your stomach for a little while. not long, and not enough to necessarily take the hunger away, but enough to be able to ignore it again. then, about another half hour to 45 minutes after that, and you wont be worried about hunger so much as your very full bladder. and when you take care of that, time to eat!

weird, maybe, but it helps me sometimes.

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update an hour later: what a supportive wife i have. on her way home from work today she bought this hersheys chocolate fudge brownie cake god thing, which she baked and is eating right now with a friend that we had as a guest for dinner and tv. loudly and overly enjoyingly. i know i made that word up, but now im distracted and proper grammar and vocabulary is out the window. hmm. she also purchased ingredients to make a recipe for "eclair cake" for a party at work tomorrow. grrrrr... willpower. im not having anything. but i will have another can of pop. and maybe ill find that gum...