270-271 (Insert pithy phrase here...)

It's really starting to come off now.  That's typical.  My metabolism has finally flipped itself around after the first few weeks of my body saying "But you're gonna eat a burger soon, right?  Sandwiched between nommy fluffy empty carbs, right?  Soon, yeah?"

No.

Now, I haven't cut out all simple carbs.  I had half a bagel a few days ago, and friggin' LOVED it.  A few pieces of white pita bread here and there.  Some chow mein noodles and croutons on salad, etc.  But I'll guess that my simple carbs have been reduced by >80%.  That is obviously helping.  But I'm pretty sure that the walking exercise is doing the bulk of it, followed closely by calorie restriction and nutrition balance.  My girlfriend gave me a giant wodge of Flat-Out wraps, which I really like, and I've been using them to make wraps and burritos, etc, and they really help.

I've been eating fish pretty regularly--maybe twice a week.  TJ's has Ahi tuna steaks for less than $2.50 a steak (two to a bag, frozen).  Really good.  Near sushimi quality.  Tasty and filling, and only 100 kCal a steak.  Solid protein, and Omega fatty acids.  I thank the fish every time I plate one, being mindful that this thing was killed (essentially) in my name, and I'm eating it.  As much as I'm on a vegan(-ish) diet, eating fish is very helpful, and I appreciate its life energy helping me get better.  Last night I made spicy tuna salad sushi wraps (tuna salad with vegan Sriracha mayo, bread & butter pickles, lettuce, and a light shmear of vegan cream cheese on Flat-Out wraps).  I had two, not because I was gorging, but because I was really very hungry, had just exercised (so I needed extra protein) and I'd left out the avocado anyway, so I felt that it was okay.  They were probably between 300-400kCal, so I I think I was in the right.  800kCal used to be a snack for me.

I didn't actually take note of my starting weight a few weeks ago, but I know that back in the winter, I'd gotten back up to the 290's again.  I think it's safe to say that on July 1st, I was at about 288 or thereabouts.  So if we start there, I've dropped about 16lbs in three weeks as of this blogging.  A little over 5lbs a week.  That's good.  I know it's not sustainable, but it's good.  If my last significant weight loss is any indication, I can expect to keep this pace up for about another 15lbs before I really plateau.  I got down to 253 back in 2007, and the last 5lbs of that was near-total starvation due to heavy-duty stress.  I missed a major goal there.  I still feel sorta bad about it.  Not too bad, but I wish I'd have hit it.

And yes, a fail on the food diary.  No excuses: I detest doing it.  I may or may not get better at that.  Don't hold your breath.  There's something so... niggly about doing that.  So many of my weight-conscious friends say it's really helpful, but to me it just seems like enslavement.

I've been doing some research of VLCD (or "Very Low Calorie Diets") which are diets between 450-800kCal a day.  Found a really good paper published in the journal Nature that says that while they're helpful as a tool for dealing with morbid obesity (read: "me") they apparently--in the long-haul--aren't much better than a regular LCD.  Right now, I'm pretty sure I'm only doing LCD, but I'm keeping the VLCD idea in my back pocket for plateaus.

Yeah, there are some things I have been missing lately.  My morning routine of a bagel, cream cheese and a mocha, pizza, burgers on buns, chips, etc.  But I know that I'll be able to eat them again in the future.  It's just that they'll need to be balanced out on the ledger more stringently.  I keep in mind that I was somehow able to be a fat vegetarian, and moreover, a fat vegan.  Just because an animal isn't involved doesn't mean it's lower calories, or that it alone will help me lose weight.  Only I can do that...