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The Cheapest Automotive Diet
By Mechlogs.com
Pennsylvania
Published: Mon, Dec 26, 2005
So you've spent hours pulling unneeded steel off your car, trying to shave a few more pounds off that racer of yours. After all, in this world, races are won in tenths -- if not hundredths -- of a second, not minutes and seconds, like a marathon. You've pulled the spare tire, yanked the passenger seat and dash -- and everything else that was expendable -- and now you're looking at replacing the traditional steel fasteners with titanium ones to get that little bit of an edge.
Did you look in the driver's seat yet? Yeah, that's right -- you, lardy. How much could you take off if you dropped that spare tire of yours? 30, 40, 50 lbs? In addition to getting that little extra edge that you've been looking for (a whole lot cheaper than the cost of titanium), you'll feel a lot better too. Here's my journey with a simple meal plan
That's my quest at the moment. I'm 5'8", and I could use a little trimming
at the scale. Most people think changing your body is all about starvation and
willpower. I don't believe in that. I don't believe in diets. Grapefruits, apples,
no carbs, all carbs, pills, potions, electroshock belts, or nasty-tasting herb
drinks that for all you know are flattened elephant dung -- I'll have none of
it. The only regimen that works is time-tested: lean food and exercise.
I'm no fitness guru or bodybuilder or sports trainer. I’m not very overweight.
I'm just your average guy with a "few extra pounds". Currently, I'm
26.6% body fat. My goal is 17% (even though 5-8% would be really cool ). As
with everything, your mileage may vary.
What I’m recommending isn’t a diet. I call it nutritional rehabilitation.
I started this program last February. By Easter, I had dropped 4% body fat and
nearly six inches off my waist. I went from 212 lbs down to 185, and I stayed
there for most of the summer, even after I got back on the all-you-can-eat chuck
wagon. But lately, I've gone overboard, so it's about time to do something.
The BMI Myth
I'll mention BMI once. BMI is bull. At my present height, I'll never have BMI
where the government thinks I should. (25 is the magic number and it ain 't
gonna happen. At my leanest recently, I was 160 lbs, which is in the target
BMI, but this was after a nasty flu that kept me from eating or drinking for
two weeks. I forced myself to drink orange juice, but that was it. For two weeks
I didn't want any food, and OJ was the only thing I could handle.) I could be
5% body fat and 200 lbs and be much healthier than my usual 185.
So, ignore the BMI. I'll be using the military's method for calculating body fat, a calculator is directly to the right of this paragraph for your own use. You'll need a tailor's measuring tape and that's it. A friend or a mirror to measure your neck is very helpful.
Get Started
Don't tell me you don't have time to do it, either. I get up at 3:00 a.m. head
off to work at 4:00. I get home from work at 6:00 p.m., watch some TV and hit
the hay for a nice long 4-6 hour nap. Although I do get some hard physical labor
in each day, my job is less than physically demanding. If I can get myself in
shape, so can you.
197.2 Day 0
That's what the scale read this morning. I took out the tape measure. At my
navel, it read 39.75", which is pretty bad considering this summer I was
37". I got lazy and bored and sat down with a nice big bag of something
that's basically decent tasting lard. I was planning on starting my meal plan
today, but -- excuses, excuses! -- I didn't do it.
There's no time
like the present. Day 1 November 30, 2005
I got up this morning at 3:30 after a whopping four hours of sleep. My eyes
were bloodshot, my mind everywhere but "here" and I needed to shave.
I wandered into the kitchen and ate the raisin bran I measured the night before
into one of those Gladware containers, and added milk:. Instant breakfast. Then
I drank some grapefruit juice and wandered to the bathroom. I hopped in the
shower and tried to wake up. Then I was off to my part-time job. I completely
forgot to step on the scale, so I entered 197.2 into my log for today.
I came home from my part-time job and ate cottage cheese and fruit. I'll eat
about every three to four hours while I'm on this, which I rather like, because
I'm always hungry.
Then I took a nap. Normally by now I'm off to my full time job, but I had vacation
time I have to use, so I'm home. I got up, ate a sandwich and ran some errands.
Once I got home, I watched the the boob tube for a bit and then ate again: a
cup of yogurt.
Tonight dinner is going to be fish.
The only problem so far is boredom. Since I'm not going to my regular job, I've
got lots of time to sit around and nibble. When I did this last time, I didn't
have that experience. I should have started on my first day back at work, not
my last day of vacation. Ah well.
198.0 Day 2
This morning went a lot like yesterday, except since I had my normal five or
six hours of sleep, I actually felt awake enough to shave without making a trip
for stitches. I was supposed to eat toast and eggs, but I didn't have time to
cook the eggs, so I made today a repeat of yesterday's meals. The exception
is dinner, which will be salmon and broccoli instead of what ever the Gordon's
Fisherman caught.
All in all I've made it through the day fairly well. I snuck a few peanuts and
cashews in but I haven't poured any soda today and I felt pretty good this morning.
This afternoon however, is a different story. I think I'm getting a cold that
my stepdaughter had two days ago. I've got a mild headache and my joints are
achy. Maybe I need a vacation from my vacation. I'm thinking about bailing out
of work a half hour early because of it.
| Nutrition Facts An 20-oz regular Coke contains 65 mg of sodium or 20% of what you should consume. Diet coke has nearly as much, so there's little difference there. |
Back to the soda: Carbonated beverages are probably something you want to avoid for a while. If you drink a few a day, you're putting back all the sodium that you're trying to get rid of this first week or two. High sodium levels mean that your body retains more water to dilute the excess sodium you've put in there. If you keep your sodium intake to a minimum, you’ll see a big drop in the scale in those first couple of days. You'll also see a significant drop in your waist line -- maybe half an inch or more. That's why you should skip the soda pop -- even the diet soda is the wrong move here. Water, milk, milk-drinks like yogurt smoothies, fruit juice, coffee with lower-fat milk and no sugar are good choices. You want to go easy on the fruit juice too, but eight ounces a day is good for you. Fresh whole fruit is even better.
References
1) DoD
Physical Fitness and Body Fat Programs Procedures
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