Jim Baen's Universe

A Gain and a Loss

Today I gained another year for my age. It didn’t happen all at once — it’s been accumulating for a while now.

My loss has also been accumulating (deccumulating?) for a while, though not as long. Earlier this year, I set a goal of getting my weight down under 200 pounds by my birthday.

According to my scale this morning, I weigh 199 pounds. That’s a loss of 30 pounds since the beginning of the year.

How did I do it? For the most part, it was through eating less and exercising more.

I cut back on eating out for dinner. Instead, I mostly ate Michelina’s Lean frozen entrees (sometimes with a can of tuna added) or Lean Pockets.

I went from two Sausage Egg McMuffins for breakfast down to one. (I’m not kidding.) Or else a Clif Bar energy bar.

Usually no lunch or just a light snack.

I bought a treadmill two Christmases ago, but didn’t really start using it until this year. I put it in front of the TV. It’s amazing how quickly 40+ minutes of walking goes when watching a TV show.

And then there’s one other thing that I’m not sure whether it had an effect or not. I have asthma, and I’ve been taking an amino acid (NAC) that’s supposed to break up mucous in the lungs. But NAC is also being tested for stopping nicotine and cocaine cravings, so maybe it lessens food cravings, too? If so, then NAC made it easier to stick to my diet. (FYI, I have never craved nicotine or cocaine, so I don’t know whether it works on that.)

Published Thursday, March 16, 2006, at 9:31 am|

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Comments Leave a comment.

  1. On March 16, 2006 at 11:05 am Angela Stone Said:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And CONGRATULATIONS on reaching your weight loss goal! That is truly an accomplishment! I’m very proud and can’t wait to see the new you.

  2. On March 16, 2006 at 4:20 pm Audrey Stone Said:

    That’s awesome, Eric! Good for you. McDonalds breakfast can be hard to resist. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

  3. On March 16, 2006 at 8:02 pm Kaimi Said:

    Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Errr-riic. Happy birthday to you!

    Now go eat some birthday cake and a big bowl of birthday ice cream!

    Or, I suppose, some birthday tofu and carrot sticks. :P

  4. On March 16, 2006 at 10:53 pm Rosalie Said:

    Congratulations! Very impressive to have reached that goal of under 200, however you managed to do it.
    Happy Birthday, and may you enjoy many more!

  5. On March 16, 2006 at 11:13 pm Eric James Stone Said:

    > Or, I suppose, some birthday tofu and carrot sticks.

    In celebration of my birthday, I totally pigged out at Chili’s. But I’ll be back on the diet tomorrow.

  6. On March 17, 2006 at 1:48 pm John Beard Said:

    Eric, congrats. That is a goal of mine too (under 200 again). Curious–how tall are you?

  7. On March 18, 2006 at 10:20 pm Oliver Dale Said:

    Good for you, man. And Happy Birthday.

  8. On March 19, 2006 at 10:09 am Eric James Stone Said:

    > Curious–how tall are you?

    I’m 6′2″.

  9. On March 23, 2006 at 11:38 pm JKS Said:

    I’m impressed. And I was a little inspried by your treadmill in front of the TV. I’ve got an elipse machine and this week I’ve been using it. So far, the Apprentice board room scene has been the only thing that really keeps me interested enough to keep my mind off it. Related was ok. American Idol didn’t quite do it for me.

  10. On April 10, 2006 at 8:53 am Carolyn Stone Said:

    I just read this! Congratulations on the weight loss. That’s fantastic.

Leave a Comment