Breakfast
large mug of coffee w/splenda and coffeemate
granola bar
Lunch
Beef stew
2oz pepperjack
diet coke zero
Snack
3 mini hershey
Dinner
Chili w/ 1/2 oz pepperjack
Diet Coke Zero
Late Evening
Bacon and potato stew
20oz Dr. Pepper
New Scientist reports that housework staves off anxiety and depression. Just 20 minutes a week is highly effective, reducing the risk of depression by 20%. Sports reduces it by a third, according to the study.
Now, I don’t know about y’all, but 20 minutes of housework wouldn’t even come close to the time needed to pick up after myself. When I was super extra morbidly obese, 500 pounds, I required some living assistance and had a housekeeper. However, I can do things for myself nowadays. I’m a bachelor, so keep that in mind.
Got back to the gym today after a few hectic days at work. I did 40:07 on the NuStep cross-trainer and burned up 403 calories. Afterwards I went for nine laps on the track - 1 mile. It’s a great way to burn through stress.
The best part - I weighed in at 325 pounds today. 
Breakfast
8oz of coconut nectar
cup of coffee with 4 packs of splenda and a bit of french vanilla coffeemate
few bites of mixed fruit (melon, strawberry)
Lunch
32oz unsweet iced tea
32oz unsweet iced tea
few bites of red beans and rice with lots of hot sauce - slimed a bit
Afternoon Snack
16oz orange juice
Blueberry mini-muffin - went down fine
Dinner
20oz water
20oz water
20oz water
20oz water
2/3 can of tuna
1 Lollyphile Absinthe flavored lollypop
Evening Snack
Sip of pressed apple juice
1 forkful of mashed potatoes
20oz water
1 cup of mashed potatoes (forgot to add this earlier)
1oz mixed shredded beef & BBQ chicken (forgot to add this earlier)
Notes
Stressful last few days with another few similar days to follow.
Long day. Very tired. Many PBs. Going to bed.
While I continued listening to the Gallic Wars, my tempo was slower, so I switched to cheesy 1980’s pop music and it made a huge difference with my pace. I burned 401kcal in 40 minutes on the NuStep Cross-Trainer.
While the picture shows 40:12 and 403 calories, I had stopped at 40 minutes and 401kcal and it took me several seconds of fiddling with my iPhone to take some picts. The other photos were too blurry to use.
I need to get a new headset and a case for my iPhone, since sweat trickling down the wires shorts out the click button that controls music. My current set of headphones suck.
I’ve got to knock out some stuff at work in preparation for a huge big-deal series of meetings this week. Workouts sure help out with the stress.
Whenever I’m under stress, I binge on sugar, eat crap, and crave nicotine. I should be exercising instead. I quit smoking in January 2008, not for any New Year’s Resolution, but because I was waylaid by a flu virus and bronchitis. Ugh.
In very short order, my weight shot up from the 310s to 332.25. My low since being banded was 296. At my peak weight, I was over 500 pounds. Anyway, I stopped exercising. While it’s true that I have a bad back, that doesn’t keep me from using a stationary cycle or walking around the track. I sold my BowFlex, which I had bought just before I injured my back a tad over two years ago.
It’s Spring, I’m well, the weather is either rainy or good, and the gym awaits. Yes, I’ve been extraordinarily busy at work, but that too shall pass. The only thing I haven’t been short on is excuses.
Losing weight is not rocket science, it’s medical science. While it’s more complicated with the morbidly obese than Joe Average, the principles are relatively simple:
It’s logically very simple, but overeating is emotional. Stress drives me to sugar. Sugar makes me feel better psychologically and for a short while physically. But it’s bad for me. Exercise is a better stress reliever, provided I don’t go overboard and frak up my back.
One down side to the lap band is that you don’t get the sugar aversion experienced by many (if not most) Gastric Bypass patients. In fact, my sweet tooth got worse. But folks with the gastric bypass typically have an 18 month window before the body adapts to malabsorption. Malabsorption doesn’t go away entirely, but it’s effacy is reduced over time.
Anyway, these are just a few thoughts. Feel free to comment.