For those of you who didn't already know, last month I officially paid off my gigantic $17,000 credit card debt that I racked up during college. I didn't have a job the last year of college so I could focus on school, but I was still living like I did have a job. Combine that with the fact that I had to move to Nashville for 4 months to do my internship and BAM!, you've got yourself one hell of a debt.

So finally 6 years and about 28 large later, it's all but a painful memory. $400 bones a month is what it took, which doesn't absolutely destroy the pocketbook but it certainly puts a damper on doing all that stuff you want to do when you are a young twenty-something.

I'm also close to being "fat free" in a sense. The diet and exercise program (that I invented myself with no outside help thank you very much) that I put myself on back in March is working pretty damn well. After exactly two months I've dropped a grand total of 19 lbs of pure fat (I started at 171 and weighed in this morning at 152). Realistically, it's probably closer to about 22 lbs of fat that I've lost as I've put on at least 2 or 3 pounds of lean muscle in my upper body. I'm still about 4 lbs away from my goal of 148, but I've got three more weeks before I hit the beautiful sandy beaches of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, so it shouldn't be a problem. These last few pounds seem to be the hardest though, that's for sure.

I'm going to eat and drink like a crazy starving pirate down there so I fully expect to put about 4 pounds back on the first week. Then of course I'll come home and eat all the food I missed for the past 3 months which will probably tack on another 4 lbs or so. After that, I'm planning on sticking to this lifestyle for a while. I won't keep my diet as strict, but some elements of it will no doubt stick around. I'll also continue to hit the gym at least a few times a week. I'd like to end up around 148 like I said above, but with more muscle and less fat than the 148 I'll be when I get on the plane in 3 weeks. There's significant room for improvement in that muscle to fat ratio still but I think it's an achievable goal.

Now if I could only quit smoking...

Labels: diet, financial, health

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 2:21 PM

- Fuji apples are the best damn apple ever cultivated

- Properly peeling a hard-boiled egg can sometimes be just as challenging as solving a Rubik's Cube

- Light Miracle whip is about 10 times better for you than real mayo and tastes just as good in tuna salad

- Some wizard using black magic developed a curse to make apples taste like grapes (Mmmm...Black magic apple)

- Broiling fish brushed with olive oil in the oven creates smoke... lots and lots of smoke

- I have a new-found love for milk chocolate Ensure (it has become the highlight of my day)

- Rice cakes only taste like cardboard when compared to a hamburger. When you're hungry enough to eat your shoe, they taste quite delicious.

- I really miss eating those tiny 60 cent snack bags of Cheetos each afternoon

- Guinness only has 125 calories (per 12 oz. serving)

- Lot's of protein in your diet causes some seriously solid poos

- Drinking 8 or more glasses of water a day is really good for you. (Of course, I actually always knew this, I just never realized how good it actually is)

- I like slightly green bananas better than slightly brown ones

- Taco Bell and Steak n' Shake taste like little slices of heaven when you have been eating nothing but yogurt, fruit, wild rice and fish all week

- Eating greasy shitty food really fucks up your stomach. I haven't had a stomach cramp or even so much as a really nasty fart for a month

- Not eating after 10:00 PM makes me sleep like a baby

- Only eating 300 - 400 calories at each meal makes your stomach shrink drastically

- Grocery shopping by yourself when you are on a diet and not going completely insane with the desire to purchase everything in the freshly prepared entrees section near the deli at Dierbergs and take it around back of the store to scarf it down like a fiendish little troll takes a willpower that is beyond the measure of mortal men

- Finding something that is both healthy and tasty at a fast food restaurant is a task better left up to Jim Phelps or Ethan Hunt

Labels: diet, health

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 2:02 PM

I'm on day four of my first official diet ever and so far things are looking up. It's a pretty strict regimen of low fat, low carb, high protein foods. It's definitely not easy to stick to, as the smell of the delicious fare from the Billy Goat wafts past through my building on a regular basis, and the snack box here at work is staring me down and teasing me hourly.

So far I've only cheated once on Tuesday by eating some leftovers (which weren't that bad) from Macaroni Grill (where I ate my last meal not on a diet on Sunday night). I have had about three beers each day, but they have all been Bud Selects (only 99 calories) and have all kept me within my 2000 calorie a day limit.

I'm currently weighing in between 163.5 and 165.5 pounds which is down from my normal weight of between 167 - 170. So I figure I've lost three pounds. This is so far without any exercise.

I bought some new tennis shoes and some athletic clothes on Sunday with the intention of hitting the gym this week, but I haven't found the time to make it yet. In case you're wondering what I'm chowing on, here's the basic info:


BREAKFAST - TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 412
One banana
One cup of Yoplait Light yogurt
One hard boiled egg w/ light salt
One cup of Naked brand fruit juice
One cup of black coffee

LUNCH - TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 396
One apple
One can of tuna w/ 1 tsp of light Miracle Whip
One hard boiled egg

MID-DAY SNACK - TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 292
One can of Ensure High Protein Meal replacement drink
One orange

DINNER - TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 578
One chicken breast (or piece of fresh fish
One cup of garden salad w/ light Italian dressing
One cup wild rice
One cup steamed veggies

TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE FOR DAY: 1678

That's actually a pretty insane diet if you think about it. 2000 calories is pretty low already for an adult male, and no less than 1800 is recommended, but I feel OK (other than Monday where I had a dizzy spell before I ate dinner) and haven't really felt hungry since Monday night.

I'd like to lose about 25 pounds of fat and gain about 10-15 pounds of muscle putting me at my ideal weight of 155 and toned. We'll see if that happens. I'd really be happy with losing 15 pounds of fat and gaining 5 lbs of muscle. That would put me at a healthy and slimmer 160. I guess we'll see what happens between now and the time I leave for Mexico. After that, I'm going back to eating real food. I'll probably keep working out when I get back, but I can't live without me some red meat at least a few times a week.

Labels: diet, health

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 2:08 PM