Phat Not Fat

My follow up cholesterol test results

I promised you an update on how my weight and cholesterol is since we did the 30 Day Challenge.

I’m happy to report that I am still running every couple of days using the C25K app. I have also had little meat and dairy, I plan to continue to strive to avoid them.

Beer is back and I’m happy to report that too, but I’m paying special attention to how much I have. Let’s face it, the nectar of the gods is chock full of calories. I also can’t imagine drinking light beer, it’s terrible.

The tested today shows the following things… some I’m very happy about, others I still need to work on. Based on the Engine2 diet, my goal is 150 for total cholesterol.

Here’s where I was August 1:

Weight 194
Total Cholesterol 187
LDL Cholesterol 126
HDL Cholesterol 47
TG 70
LDL/HDL 2.7

Here’s where I am today, September 11:

Weight 178
Total Cholesterol 169
LDL Cholesterol 104
HDL Cholesterol 48
TG 86
LDL/HDL 2.1
non-HDL 121

As you can see things are improving! I was shocked by my weight, but I did notice my stomach getting smaller.

As you can see my total cholesterol is still not at 150 where I would like to get it. This means I need to work harder. I had planned to have this test done on Sept 1, but I kept forgetting to fast before. I should admit that I’ve had a few beers and pizza since then. I wish I had done the test before I allowed myself the bad stuff again. Ah well.

We’re back on the vegan diet again for now. The picture above is of a vegan paella I made for dinner tonight. We also defrosted a frozen vegan lasagne (that we made a couple of weeks ago), so we’ll be ready for dinners this week. I’ll up date you here when I get my next cholesterol test.

I recommend you have one done soon too, this will show you how susceptible you are to heart disease.

Pizza and Beer

To celebrate the completion of our 30 Day Challenge of no booze and a vegan diet, we went out for pizza and beer last night. The beer was cold and refreshing and the pizza was hot, greasy and delicious.

I posted this photo to Facebook and had a great conversation with my vegan friend, Kate O’Neill. She asked how I was feeling after eating the food. She wasn’t criticizing me for doing it, she was genuinely interested.

We felt bloated

Heather and I both agreed that we felt bloated and gross. Not only did we eat meat and cheese for the first time in 30 days, but we ate a lot of it, or at least I sure did.

I made a pledge to myself that in the future I would limit myself to one slice of pizza per month. If I even eat it at all.

Running it off

This morning I sat back in my chair to curl up with my second cup of coffee and read my iPad. I was intentionally avoiding my C25K jogging schedule, which still continues.

I was reminded of the pizza and beer. The unnecessary calories and carbs that I fed myself had to go. There was no question about it, I had to go run. So I got off my ass and hit the road. I felt great afterward, but I sure was trying to avoid it.

Moving forward

My challenge isn’t really over. I need to be sure that I continue to eat small portions, keep the booze to a minimum, avoid red meat and meat in general, avoid dairy, and to continue jogging. I know I can do it too.

I’m going to get my cholesterol checked tomorrow morning. I’ll update you here to see what effect this challenge has had. I’ll add that I have lost 10 lbs this month too. Not bad!

I’ll share my next 30 Day Challenge on my blog soon if you’re interested. Thanks for all of your support!

An update: excercising and running

I thought I’d take a quick minute to update you on our progress.

Both Heather and I have lost a few pounds each. We haven’t been as strict with the exercise routine that the book recommends. However, we’re still running every second day and that’s going really well. We actually enjoy it!

You can track my running here if you’re interested.

How do people get “in to” exercising? I just can’t seem to like it, which makes it really tough to keep doing. Do you have any tips?

We’re still eating vegan and we’re both sober. We actually splurged on some non-alcholic beer last weekend. We think we’ve earned it.

The big test will be on September 1, when we get our cholesterol taken again. Here’s where I was when we started this.

Let me know if you have any exercise tips please. I could use them! Thanks.

Coffee is not a snack…

Repeat after me. Coffee is not a snack. Fruit is a snack.

Lazy Saturday Fail

Doing nothing as a sober vegan is a bitch. All we want to do is head into town for a beer and some nachos. :/ #phatdave

Day 10: Morning RUN

I was doing my run this morning. The C25K app occasionally sounded the friendly chime followed by Jim’s (the voice) enthusiast instruction.

“Walk”…”Run”…”Walk”…”Run”…

I was following Jim, but at one point I started to feel really tired running.

I decided to focus my mind on work, on my to-do list. As I did this I began to really feel exhausted. I anxiously awaited Jim’s next instruction to walk. Moments later it came…

“Run”.

WHAT?!?! WTF! I had missed Jim’s gift of walking, I must have completely tuned out the chime and voice prompt. In a split second I decided that I must continue to run, but I was disappointed that I had missed that sweet opportunity to slow down a little.

Today’s Summary

Distance: 2.34 mi / Walk Pace: 13:49 mi / Run Pace: 09:55 mi