Riding the trend train.

A few weeks ago I joined The Biggest Loser Club to see what it was like. I was looking for a way to track my diet and fitness from an online venue so that I could add to it from anywhere. I would have preferred something that was software-based where I could sync it with a personal database online; but what the heck. I have watched the show from time to time and it works wonders, and they sent me some books as well, which I've actually read.

After I saw the doctor on Tuesday I was fairly freaked out about how bad I had pushed my health to deteriorate. It didn't happen on its own, after all: I didn't exercise and I ate extremely poorly. So, I took several actions:

• Bought a Pulsar F11 Heart Rate Monitor
• Read the books from the club.
• Went swimming with my heart rate monitor
• Quit eating food I knew to be bad
• Purchased a food scale

Wednesday I also did the elliptical. Today I decided to have a day of rest (prompted by a huge, awful, ongoing throbbing in my head); towards the evening I realized I had nothing healthy to eat, so I went to New Seasons and did some food shopping, with a mind to the type of food that the books recommended and the kind of schedule they recommended for eating.

What appeals to me about their methods, as it were, is that it's not a pre-set diet. They recommend a certain number of daily intake (which you can see in my screenshot), and give recommendations for 6 meals (3 meals, 3 snacks actually) to eat throughout the day to reach that goal. The object is not a starvation diet, but a diet that keeps you energized throughout the day on portion-controlled, healthy meals. As a really finicky eater I like this because I can swap out their suggestions for foods that I actually want to eat - I just have to watch the portions. I enter in their site and see how well I've done. I don't have to do any of the math, either, which makes it easier to track.

So, I get to eat often, I get to eat food that I like, and it's all very easy. What's more is that I've laid off a lot of the sugar and have found (as was said in the book) that I have no more cravings for that sugar; that has also resulted in far fewer ups and downs throughout the day, as well, and has kept me away from eating one, huge, awful meal. The books also teach you how to read labels and what it all means, which is fantastic.

So, while I have not yet seen a dietitian, I am attempting to modify my diet; I've felt better the last few days than I have in a long time, which is motivating me to keep it going (other than, you know, the threats of my arteries clogging into a heart attack and early death). I have found a system where I can eat the few foods I enjoy; or at least healthy alternatives that I enjoy, and never feel either hungry or bloated.

The only problem I'm having now is that I'm not eating enough. See the screenshot, and you'll see that as of dinner-time, I'm way below all the target amounts.

So I need to learn how to eat small, healthy portions often. I often forget to eat (which leads to over-eating at dinner-time and after, which is what has caused this current problem) so I need to make sure that every 3 hours or so I have something to eat. That should make the numbers match; and between that and the exercise, hopefully my weight will drop along with my Glucose and Cholesterol.