THE COUNTER
THE COUNTER
Starting weight: 299 pounds
Last weigh-in (Feb. 14): 275.2
Total pounds lost: 23.8
Pounds until 240: 35.2

WHAT I ATE TODAY
Meal 1
2 cups of corn flakes (generic)
1 ½ cup of skim milk
Calories: 320
Fat: 0 grams

Meal 2
2 slices of wheat bread
4 slices of lowfat turkey
Calories: 240
Fat: 8 grams

Meal 3
1 footlong Subway Club
Calories: 640
Fat:12 grams

Meal 4
1 small bag of pretzels
Calories: 160
Fat: 0 grams

Meal 5
1 cup of lowfat yogurt
Calories: 200
Fat: 2.5 grams

Meal 6
2 cups of corn flakes (generic)
1 ½ cup of skim milk
Calories: 320
Fat: 0 grams

Total Calories: 1,880
Total Fat: 22.5 grams

My take: I think it is kind of funny how you can think you are having a perfect day, but then add all the calories up and see that you were a little over what you were comfortable with. Certainly, 1,900 calories isn’t a bad day at all, but ideally, I’d like to be around 1,500. That yogurt in Meal 5 kind of threw me off. It was offered by a coworker and I was hungry and nearing the end of my shift, so I grabbed it. It was, however, “organic.” I think that means no one shit in it. I’m not really sure. I don’t get into the whole organic foods craze.

Still, not a bad day overall.

THE REAL REASON I BROUGHT YOU HERE TODAY
I suppose if there is one thing that is bothering me, it is my semi-flippant attitude toward this entire project.

I take it seriously, don’t misunderstand that. But basically, it seems like I have simply flipped a switch, and turned on the “Healthy Dan” persona. I have to admit, I am not particularly laboring over this entire endeavor. It doesn’t seem like a real challenge to me. I look at it like this: I want to get down to 240, so give me a few months and I will do just that.

It’s not a bad way to look at it, I suppose. But I can’t help but feel that I should be scrutinizing this a little bit more. I should be continuously working on finding new things to eat and new exercises to do. Instead, I recycle the same meals every day, perhaps in a slightly different order. At the gym, I routinely do my 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and head home feeling happy with myself. It’s dutiful, it’s habitual, and it’s pretty damn efficient.

It seems I have worked out a very nice balance for myself. Losing weight, in my mind at least, used to mean eating things I didn’t really want, and doing exercises that I didn’t really want to do. But now I look forward to just about every meal I eat, because I know what I like. When I go to the gym, I know that 30 minutes on the elliptical burns 500 calories, and I can do it with relative ease and even some enjoyment.