Having conquered my coffee addiction, I started my quest to clean up my diet last week, and hopefully drop a few pounds.  Last Monday, I tipped the scales at 214 pounds.  I had regained nine of the twenty pounds that I took off earlier in the year.  My tight clothing should have been a dead giveaway.  That, and the fact that I can’t see my feet. Here’s my Before picture:

Photo by girolame

Just kidding.  I only feel that fat.  But I digress; on to the numbers.  I weighed in this morning at 212 pounds.

As you can see, I made some slight progress in my goal.  I tend to be a slow starter on diets, and don’t make much progress for a couple of weeks.  This time was no different.  I followed a high-protein, low carbohydrate diet.  I wasn’t ready to jump into the full-blown Metabolic Diet just yet.  That’s a little too carb-restrictive for me at this point.  I’ll have to work my way down to 30 net carbs.  I ate fruit instead of cookies, and drank not one beer.  Here’s a typical day’s menu from the past week:

Breakfast

• One scoop of Amplify protein powder (from GNC) (120 calories, 20 grams protein, 3 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat)
• 8 ounces of Hood Calorie Countdown chocolate milk - this is the best chocolate milk I’ve ever tasted! (90 calories, 8 grams protein, 4 grams net carbs, 5 grams fat)

Mid-morning Snack

• 1 ounce of walnuts (183 calories, 4 grams protein, 2 net carbs, 18 grams fat)

Lunch

• 4 ounces of Boar’s Head Cajun Turkey (120 calories, 26 grams protein, 2 grams net carbs, 1 grams fat)
• 1/4 of a Damascus Roll Ups Flax wrap (28 calories, 3 grams protein, 2 grams net carbs, 1 gram fat)
• 1 teaspoon Boar’s Head Savory Remoulade mayonnaise (90 calories, 0 gram protein, 2 grams net carbs, 9 grams fat)

Afternoon Snack

• 1 ounce dry roasted peanuts (166 calories, 5 grams protein, 4 grams net carbs, 14 grams fat)

Dinner

• One scoop of Amplify protein powder (120 calories, 20 grams protein, 3 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat)
• 8 ounces of Hood Calorie Countdown chocolate milk (90 calories, 8 grams protein, 4 grams net carbs, 5 grams fat)

After-Dinner Snack #1

• 1 cup arugula (4 calories, 0 grams protein, 1 gram net carbs, o grams fat)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (238 calories, 0 grams protein, 0 grams net carbs, 14 grams fat)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (6 calories, 0 grams protein, 1 gram net carbs, 0 grams fat)
• 1 tablespoon grated romano cheese (20 calories, 1 gram protein, 0 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat)

After-Dinner Snack #2

• 1 ounce of pepperoni (138 calories, 6 grams protein, 0 grams net carbs, 12 grams fat)
• 1 ounce of Swiss cheese (106 calories, 8 grams protein, 2 grams net carbs, 8 grams fat)

After-Dinner Snack #3

• 1 pear (86 calories, 1 gram protein, 18 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat)

Totals for a Typical Day

• Calories: 1,605
• Protein: 110 grams
• Net Carbs: 48 grams
• Fat: 93 grams

Note: To figure out net carbs, subtract the amount of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrates.

As you can see, this isn’t a strict adherence to the Metabolic Diet, as I’m over the 30 grams of net carbs per day threshold.  After dinner continues to be my Achilles heel.  I’m thankful it’s baseball season, as the Yankees keep my mind occupied.  My downfall was a barbecue with the family last night.  I’ll have to start eating my cheeseburgers without the bun.

Tune in next Monday, where I’ll share my exercise routine with you.

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