Monday, October 30, 2006

No Dr. Venkman, you’re being moved *Off* campus

Twice this weekend I felt absolutely stuffed full, bloated, gonna die if I eat anything else… because I ate a hotdog. The odd thing was I knew I wasn’t full but it felt that way. We also went to Applebee’s and I had a Hamburger. That’s easily doable right? I felt like I was going to die. Mind you, this is all extremely good, especially since my weight loss plateaued a tiny bit - I expect it to pick up again on Monday. At any rate I’m still doing better than a pound a week - I’d like to get it up to 2.

Posted by chris on 10/30 at 02:29 PM
Shangri-La Diet • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Friday, October 27, 2006

Down Three

Belt loops that is. Too bad I’m the only one who can tell so far. I guess I just need to wait a few more months (on a side note, I actually liked Click - if you haven’t seen it you won’t get the connection). OK, go back to work.

Posted by chris on 10/27 at 07:53 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Ray everyone has three mortgages these days

I added a link in the upper right of the pages to the current weight loss graph. Not much is going on except the pizza conspiring against me (random fate has caused pizza for lunch and/or dinner consistently for the last three days) - still I’m doing ok and not eating as much as I would have.

On another note, my wife and I are on the verge of finishing the 2 liter (68 ounce) bottle of olive oil we bought a few days after starting the diet. I’ve been doing about 5 tablespoons a day, I think she’s doing 2.5. For the fun of it: the 2 liter bottle has 136 servings of 1 tablespoon (15ml) each containing 120 “Calories” - meaning that it has a total caloric content of 16,320. If you divide that by 2500 you find that you would gain about 6.5 pounds of fat if you chugged the whole thing. I’ll wait while you gag a bit at the thought of drinking that much oil at a time, I know I do. Anyway, you’ll notice I put calorie in quotes, Colloquially, and in nutrition and food labeling, the term “calorie” almost always refers to the kilogram calorie. to further quote: kilogram calorie approximates the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1 °C. I’m sure we all learned (and forgot) in science class that a calorie the the energy required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree C. I remember thinking it was pretty extraordinary that our bodies will function for a day on the energy needed to raise 2 liters of water 1 degree C. We don’t. I suppose it’s one of those vital truths they leave out to simplify things - rather like how they still teach kids that electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom like planets orbiting the sun they don’t. OK science class is over.

Posted by chris on 10/27 at 07:13 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

By Grabthar’s hammer… what savings.

Was only able to grab a sandwich for dinner last night - went to visit some neighbors, they gave me some home made french fries (I think I had 4) and when I got home I split an apple with the kids - no hunger. My wife on the other hand forgot to do oil for the last two days and says she has been eating like crazy.

So… let’s see where we are: down two belt loops and about half way to a third. Went below 270 today. Havent’s eaten for 12 hours and while I feel a compulsion to eat something it’s not hunger. I think that compulsion or habit is pretty interesting in that it’s not hunger, just a “hey, you should eat something because you haven’t for a while.” I hope that’s going to go away too.

Posted by chris on 10/25 at 07:13 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Updating Graph

I have a quasi-automatic method in place now to update the weight-loss graph. It will be going to a permanent link at http://www.thebairs.net/chart/image001.gif.

Progress seems to be constant, nothing big to report.

Posted by chris on 10/24 at 06:37 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Monday, October 23, 2006

Down two (or not…)

Had to move in another belt loop on Saturday to keep my pants up and went dancing again, the class was on the cha-cha - it’s surprising the stuff you forget if you don’t do it for a while. On Sunday I didn’t do the oil in the morning and I was snacking most of the day - just like old times. Gotta remember to not do that. 

Posted by chris on 10/23 at 11:19 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Friday, October 20, 2006

hectic as heck

My main computer at work hit cruft force 7 and wouldn’t even boot. It was time for the semi-annual format and re-install party. It’s been a busy week. On the diet front it’s pretty much just moving slowly along like it should: less food makes me full, just like it’s supposed to.

Here’s the output from the excel spreadsheet I’m using:

Posted by chris on 10/20 at 05:57 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Monday, October 16, 2006

Dancing with my baby

Weekend’s over, let’s see how we did:

Chuck-a-rama on Friday - did two medium plates, this is about on par with the last time I went. I say ‘medium’ meaning that the plate was about 75% covered by a half inch of food (mostly mashed potatoes and some cod) as opposed to loading up the entire plate with stuff. I was full but not rolling on the floor in pain, which would have been a bad idea given the layer of food thrown to the floor by the kids.

Saturday: Just a regular day, my weight went up a bit - mainly because I finally got enough to drink, no biggie. Went to the Murray Dance Center with my wife and some of our friends. The girl in the couple is starting the shangri-la diet. I was happily surprised that the people at the dance hall knew the correct way to dance to Cotton-Eye Joe was with the Christmas Polka (like spokes on a wheel) and not line dance style.

Sunday: The appetite suppression is certainly there but I’m still struggling with “is it from the oil or just in my head” time will tell.

Posted by chris on 10/16 at 02:19 PM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Down one

I have to set my belt one stop smaller now - otherwise I get “Saggy Bum Jeans” (trademark pending) - one down, who-knows-how-many to go.

According to the book, if you eat food with a flavor that you are not familiar with and therefore have not formed a flavor=calories association, it will not raise your set point up like foods you have had many times and have a strong association. A former coworker came by yesterday and invited me and bunch of other people from the office to lunch at the Himalayan Kitchen - took a second to run through in my head: “hmm, never done that sort of food before - Yes!” Very good stuff and all new. My wife cooked sloppy joes using a new recipe she found on the net - more new flavors. The only familiar flavors I had today were some orange juice at dinner, a super-super-fun-size (impossibly small) snickers, and raisin bran for breakfast. If I had to estimate I would say I only ate 1300-1700 calories of stuff (besides the oil) today, mostly during lunch.

Walked/ran again last night, I suspect the majority of the weight loss I have done so far (to date: 5 lbs) is water weight+a byproduct of the exercise - though the fact that I haven’t been as hungry lately and have therefore been eating less is most certainly helping. My wife wanted me to write that she is really feeling the appetite suppression as well. She has switched to doing 2.5 tablespoons of Oil in the evening before going to sleep. Personally I’m doing 2.5 twice a day. This morning I didn’t have any sugar water handy and took the oil (with my nose plugged) followed by just plain water to get the residue out a bit. That works OK, but not as effectively as having sugar water.

At this point I am very, very optimistic about the way things are going. I do still have some reservations about the cause of the appetite suppression although there is no doubt it is there and working. as we all know:

correlation does not equal causation

It is entirely plausible that the reduced hunger is a byproduct of a me wanting it to be so and thus it is - “just in my head.” I do not think that is the case - but, like I said, it is withing the realm of plausibility.

Posted by chris on 10/12 at 06:31 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Tracking weight loss

If anyone was reading this yet (I have illusions about that - I suspect this will be come important only after a few months when the results become apparent) they might ask what I use to track weight. Or not. I’m using the Excel spreadsheet from http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/comptoolsExcel.html - it has some nice algorithms to filter out water weight fluctuations.

On a side note I get a little bit of a kick out of people who only need to lose 5 pounds. I was talking with a friend last night as we were hanging a door frame in his house project. I told him that dropping 5 pounds was insanely easy - I’m already down 4 since I started, no big deal. “Yes but what percentage of total weight is that?” ah, there’s the kicker. OK when you see it like that I guess 5 pounds can be quite a bit more significant. I’d say the biggest advantage of going on the Shangri-la diet for someone only needing to lose 5-10 pounds would be the long term effects of being able to maintain the loss for an indefinite period without needing to worry how much they are eating.

Posted by chris on 10/11 at 08:04 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

What day is it?

1 week since I learned about the diet.

Made myself a new measuring device last night - just a prescription bottle with lines on the side indicating volume (1 Tbsp, 2Tbsp, 2.5Tbsp). I was getting tired of measuring out two table spoons of the oil while plugging my nose/holding my breath. Now I can down it all. I have heard of other people using shot glasses - well, this was free and available without having to get dressed and go to the store (no, no shot glasses at my house).

My wife and I read chapter 6 in the book last night: “Extra Credit” - essentially some additional ways you can lose more weight. They included things as simple as getting stuff at restaurants that you haven’t had before or just put strange and new combinations of spices on your food - both are “new” flavors with no caloric associations yet and will drive down your appetite in much the same way ingesting flavorless calories will. Looks like it’s time to break out the spice rack.

Posted by chris on 10/11 at 07:52 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Some guy in Utah

When I first started reading up on the Shangri-La diet last Wednesday I found a bunch of postings on the forums by Stephen M - “hey, here’s a guy that lives quite close to me and is having quite a lot of success doing it, maybe I can do it too” especially his comment about people saying he’s “half the man he used to be” - I’m hoping to be 2/3. At any rate here’s his blog.

Posted by chris on 10/10 at 12:08 PM
Shangri-La Diet • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

I’d buy *that* for a dollar

The title is meaningless, just a “Robo Cop” quote.

I think I’ve settled into a routine for the taking of the oil (not to be confused with the running of the bulls - it’s completely different and I’m offended you would mention it). In the diet it recommends surrounding the taking of the oil and/or sugar water with an hour of “buffer” time without any flavor to prevent your from forming an association. So I have come up with taking 2 tablespoons of Extra Light (tasting) Olive Oil with my nose plugged every morning just after I take a shower (usually 05:30), and again just before I go to bed (usually anywhere from 21:00 - 23:00 depending on how quickly we can get the kids to bed). Plugging my nose really helps with the oil - my wife even finds taking the oil more tolerable (though she still can barely stand it)

I reiterated that she could do just the sugar water but we keep coming back to the time and convenience factors. As I said before you have to drink the sugar water slowly to avoid high blood sugar when results in an increase in insulin levels and finally in low blood sugar and sleepiness. In the book it holds that the important factor in modifying your set point (appetite level) is the total number of flavorless calories you take in, not their form (although people differ) so in my wife’s case she would need to do almost 8 table spoons of sugar for the weight loss level she wants (remember one needs to surround the flavorless calories with an hour of no flavor on each side) , or she could down 3 tablespoons of oil (one in the morning, two at night) and have it over. Unless you had your gall bladder removed and don’t have the bile storage to process fats and oils it just seems like the way to go.

One other benefit of the oil over sugar is the possible health benefits. “Of downing pure fat!?” you say - yes but as you may recall from the big news about trans fats - they are not equal, especially when you consider the differences between Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3 are the good ones you get in olive oil and avacados among other things). I suspect I’m going to see a significant decrease in my blood pressure (which has been borderline for quite a while) along with my weight. I couldn’t care less about my cholesterol level (that link also explains the fundamental differences between saturated, unsaturated and trans fats - it’s a great read).

Didn’t really have a desire to eat breakfast today, did do a decent lunch. Let’s hear it for appetite suppression! Most of the blogs I have seen related to the diet report results starting after 1-4 weeks. Maybe I need it more.

Posted by chris on 10/10 at 05:36 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Monday, October 09, 2006

Ok, Fine, I’m a “blogger” now

Imagine me going “air quotes” when you read that.

Decided this would be a good way to keep track of it all - mainly for the benefit of friends and neighbors so I don’t have to explain what’s going on/how I did it. I’m still in the “hedge my bet” stage: if/when I start to lose gross quantities of weight, that’ll be cool and I can finally start telling people about this - if I don’t then at least I won’t feel silly for having assured everyone that it was guaranteed to work.

Not eating for most of the day yesterday dropped me “down” to 272.5 - it’s likely to be mostly water weight from dehydration. I need to drink more (water - though some root beer would be nice). On a side note, if you drink 2 quarts of Crystal Light grapefruit drink - the abundance of food coloring will not be absorbed by your body. Just a warning.

I also did the walking/running thing again - and just like it should, the running parts were easier than last week. Looking good.

Posted by chris on 10/09 at 05:29 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Sunday, October 08, 2006

three

I missed breakfast and lunch - didn’t get anything to eat until around 17:30. In the past this was an excruciating event, filled with wailing and gnashing of teeth - not so much this time. We went to a neighbors house for dinner and I had frankly forgotten that I had not eaten for 18+ hours. It’s not the sort of thing I plan on doing daily (or weekly for that matter) but it was tolerable. I did eat more than I should have, which was actually a bit less than I normally would have.

I took a “how I looked when the diet started” set of pictures. In a few months if I’m down quite a bit I’m going to post them - no reason to frighten you all. Even when viewed on a computer screen, my pasty skin tends to fluoresce (it reflects more than 100% visible light).

Posted by chris on 10/08 at 05:18 AM
Shangri-La Diet • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Page 1 of 2 pages  1 2 >