Tagged: Engine 2

Novel Diet

I crossed 18,300 words on Sunday, and while that’s progress, I’m a good 7,000 words (or 25 pages) off pace. Not good. I made far less progress over the weekend than I had hoped. My plot is developing quite well, which is both good and bad. The first 15,000 or so words was more of a discovery process; the plot was being crafted spontaneously, which was exciting. Now I have an idea as to where it’s going and doubt has set in. I think the story is good, that’s not the problem. The problem is that the story is known, and because of that I feel like I’m writing something everyone else already knows as well. The iterative process of crafting a novel is not the most appealing, but if I can make it through the entire story from start to finish without too much rereading or rewriting, I think the editing process will be much more enjoyable than it seems now.

After eating very poorly this weekend I realized I hadn’t provided an update on The Engine 2 Diet my wife and I committed to a few months ago. The good news is that we’ve incorporated some of the features of the diet into our daily lives. The bad news is that I’ve faltered on the thoroughness of my commitment, and therefor have gained back about half of the weight I lost during the 30-day experiment. We’re going to eat some leftover take out from this past weekend tonight but hop back on the horse starting tomorrow. I need to do this not only to lose weight but also manage my cholesterol. I’ve said this before, and even though it seems inevitable given my genetic disposition to high cholesterol, I really, really, really do not want to take statins. More evidence that some statins don’t work well, and may even cause more harm than good, is being presented today at a medical conference sponsored by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Day 30 – Engine 2 Diet

I’m down five pounds in one month. That’s not terrible if I can keep it up. Of course my weight loss should have been greater but I went “off book” a bit too much and didn’t exercise nearly enough. My discipline is great at home and when I’m in my routine, but as soon as the circumstances changes, good bye will power!

The past five days I was out of town and while I didn’t eat terribly, I did violate enough of the Engine 2 Diet rules to be slightly ashamed of myself. Fret not though, I’m back on the wagon as of this morning.

I find it interesting that learning about and understanding the complexities of nutrition and how our bodies work are often easier than just not picking up a piece of cake and shoving it in your mouth. Why is that?

Well, the lifestyle change continues. I think Katie and I are taking to this pretty well, albeit a bit slowly. We are crazy cheese lovers, so cutting that out of our daily diets has been hard. I just hope I see results in the form of lowered cholesterol. Katie made a fresh batch of brown rice last night and we’re headed to the grocery store tonight. Go us.

Day 15 – Engine 2 Diet

I suffered a slight relapse this weekend and went “off book” for more than one of my meals. They were tasty for sure, but evidence of my limited will power. Back on the wagon this morning. Stay strong man, stay strong.

We’re half way through the formal part of this adventure and it seems to be going well. I’m down three pounds since the start – it was a bit more but the previous paragraph indicates why I gave some my gains (losses) back. My goal is to be down five+ pounds by the end of this week.

One component still lacking is exercise. My wife and I definitely worked out more than usual last week but still not enough. I did try a workout video for the first time in my life. Our cable company offers free videos on demand and my wife found a kick boxing one that sounded interesting. I acquiesced. Holy crap did that thing kick our butts. It was 40 minutes of torture I tell you, torture! I’m still holding some resentment for the instructor, who was extremely chipper and in much, much better shape than me. Grrrrr.

Lastly, I visited my doctor for my annual physical. He was going to have me give blood for a cholesterol test but after hearing of this effort he postponed the test. I’m going back in about six weeks. I hope there’s measurable change in my cholesterol. Not only will that keep me off of the controversial drugs but also keep me motivated to stick with the plan.

Day Eight – Engine 2 Diet

One week down. Katie and I weren’t perfectly loyal to the rules and regulations of the Engine 2 Diet but we did well, especially during the week; the weekend is always harder. I didn’t weigh myself this morning but I definitely feel better and lighter, even if I haven’t lost any significant weight. I’ll check in tomorrow morning and see how I’m doing.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but while weight loss is a goal, it’s secondary to a reduction in my cholesterol. It’s sky high and needs attention, now. Also, I don’t want to take drugs to bring it down unless I am confident it’s dangerously high due only to genetics. Based on my previous diet, that could not be confirmed.

One element still missing from the entire Engine 2 regime is the exercise portion of the plan. We’ve been walking the dog most mornings. That’s a start but it’s definitely not enough. This week we’re going to try to incorporate a more structured exercise regime into our daily routine.

Finally, some of what we were eating last week got a little monotonous. Katie whipped up some staples this past weekend for the week ahead, when we are most rushed and most likely to stray from the diet. We’re going to research more recipes and try to add some diversity to our diet. While talking about this early we noted that the diversity of what we ate before wasn’t that great, the food was just so satisfying that it didn’t matter!

Onward and upward!

Day Three – Engine 2 Diet

Resisting temptation is difficult for me; I have no will power. I stared at a friend’s French fries last night for 30 minutes trying to will them into my mouth.  I was even offered some and didn’t bite. Go me.

The first two days of eating a healthy plant-based diet were not as hard as I was thinking they’d be, mostly because we’re already vegetarian so dairy was mostly all that we needed to cut out. There was one regrettable instance involving vegan macaroni and “cheese” that didn’t turn out so well. We live and we learn.

The tricky part about this nutritional adventure isn’t so much the vegan aspect, it’s the health aspect. One major objective is to severely restrict the number of processed and refined foods one eats. Why? Because they’re bad for you! It’s whole foods or bust. So, not eating food like white bread, white rice and white flour is very hard, especially ’cause all three taste really good.

We’re moving forward in baby steps though. We’ve bought brown rice and whole grain breads. We’ve bought plenty of fruits and vegetables. One thing we haven’t done as well as we should have is prepare. The Engine 2 Diet stresses preparation as a strategy to avoid failure. This is some of the best advice in the book.

It’s been a busy week but with our newly purchased rice cooker and vegetable steamer, investing a few hours every weekend to making base foods (like brown rice) will help weekday meal preparation much easier.

Day Three, here we come.

Engine 2 Diet

The wife and I put a dent in the savings account with our trip to Whole Foods today. Wowza. We stocked up on the must-haves for the Engine 2 Diet, which we’re starting Monday morning. More on the Engine 2 Diet can be found here: Engine 2 Diet, and here: Engine 2 Academy.

The Engine 2 Diet isn’t so much a “diet” in the traditional sense but more a new way of looking at nutrition (and fitness). The program’s claim is this: Lose weight, lower cholesterol, significantly reduce the risk of disease, and become physically fit—in just 4 weeks. Tall order, no? Yes, but if you read the book you’ll see how it can be done.

One of the great aspects of the book and the aforementioned websites is the practical nature of the instructions and the tools they both provide. My wife and I both just want to be healthier, and hopefully this will take us at least part way to that end. My primary goal is to get my cholesterol down – it’s quite high – and hopefully I’ll be able to lose a few pounds while I’m at it. I’ll try to post updates are frequently as I can. Wish us luck!