Put some money where your weight is

Well, on to another chapter in the seemingly never-ending struggle to keep the pesky unwanted extra pounds at bay.  Still looking for those elusive abs which made a disappearing act in the 1980's and which have not been seen since.

This time around, I am combining the tried and tested 'No S Diet' (no snacking, no sweets and no seconds on all days except those starting with 'S') with a Diet Bet.  Check it out: Diet Bet website

The deal is you 'bet' a pre-specified amount such as $25.00 either in your own competition with a few friends or family members, or you join a larger group of people, each having contributed or 'bet' the same amount.  If, by the end of 28 days you reach your target weight loss (4% of your total body weight) you get your money back PLUS whatever amount was forfeited by players who did not make the goal weight loss.

Right now I am at the end of Week 1 on aFitFluentail bet with a total of 564 players.  So the total pool is $14,100.  One week into the game a total of 1,283.00 self-reported pounds have been lost, which represents an average weight loss of 2.2 pounds per person.  Pretty impressive!

On the No S front I am doing pretty well, but just can't resist the temptation for some late-afternoon snacking (usually hummus dip with chips of one kind or another).  For this week my remedy will be tea:  a fresh supply of oolong and white tea is at hand, so at the first pan of a snack attack, will fire up the tea pot and have some calming, soothing low-caffeine tea instead.  White tea is naturally extremely low in caffeine.  Oolong have more caffeine, but I was told that if you let the first brewing steep for just 30 seconds and then discard the tea, some 80% of the caffeine is gone.  You can still brew the same leaves 3 to 4 times after that.

Running?  Not at all.  My left foot plantar fasciitis is no longer chronic (i.e. I have no pain upon waking up or any time during the day) but as soon as go on a run or even do a long walk, some discomfort re-appears.  I will likely have the podiatrist do an MRI soon to see if they can figure out what the problem is.

However that does not mean that I am inactive.  To the contrary: have been doing very regular and very brisk 12+ mile outings on the mountain bike at least 4 to 5 times per week. pushing up my heart rate to well over 130bpm, sometimes over 140.  And have started working out with my favorite PT Amy, this time at LA Fitness just around the corner on Westheimer Road here in Houston.  Beautiful, large and spanking brand new gym with more machines than you can imagine.  I've used maybe 5 or 6 of the 50+ types available.  Clearly there are more muscle areas in the body that I am aware of or have been using. 

DietBet Week 1:  Lost 4 pounds, down from 186 to 182.
No S roundup Week 1:  3 green days, 2 red (snacking!).