This week, Fran lost exactly how much weight I gained – it’s like we swapped a pound. My pound is all down to pregnancy, of course, and not the delicious piece of red velvet birthday cake with cream cheese frosting I had at Roman’s friend’s birthday party on the weekend. I was in awe as Fran turned down the offer of cake and I kept my mouth shut about how delicious the frosting was. Turns out, Fran hates cream cheese frosting, so it wasn’t such a terrible sacrifice on his part.
Check out these stats:
Week One (Starting Weight): 220 pounds
Week Two: 218 pounds
Week Three: 215 pounds
Week Four: 214 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 6 pounds
Pretty awesome, right? He’s losing the weight at such a manageable, slow and steady rate – I truly don’t think he feels like he’s depriving himself, either. In case you’re catching up, here are the first few posts from Fran on his quest to lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks:
Week One – Why the doctor insisted I have to lose weight
Week Two – The diet pitfalls of traveling and socializing for work
Week Three – Making new healthy habits (and finding ways to still incorporate alcohol)
So, hello bloggy faithful!! Here we are again. Well, I am not going to lie, blogging is MUCH harder than I thought. I don’t know how to do this. My last post felt like a book report from my days in elementary school. Yeah, I got a talking to. My wife lovingly told me what sucks about my contributions as a guest writer. And she was right across the board. So, I am back to try to remedy my blogging mistakes of the past. I am not saying it will be easy, but I can do this thing.
First off, yes, I lost another pound. Light the lamp. If you are scoring at home, that is 6 pounds lost. How does one reward themselves for such triumph? Well, I chose the olive salad with straight vodka dressing in a martini glass. Never been much for traditional treats but I lost a pound. YEAH!!
So, get ready to start shaking your heads, health geeks. I have been doing something that all of you will have an issue with. My wife included. I have been doing this for two reasons. Ok, maybe three. First, to me, this seems like a home run, because of the protein. BROTEIN!!! I’M GOING TO BE JACKED, SON!!! Ok, I will end the suspense. I have been getting protein bars for breakfast. Not only that, but I have been buying them at a local newsstand that specializes in beer and lottery tickets. I could swear one of the bars I ate expired in 1981. BUT, it had 20+ grams of protein. Advantage? Fran. They go great with coffee, they are cheap and they don’t pack a lot of calories. As a breakfast food, they seem to be a home run for me. I welcome your feedback to show me the error of my ways. The only thing I could do without is the guy at the counter trying to up sell me with scratch tickets.
Along those lines, what is up with the price disparity between healthy food and junk food? I can get enough food to last me a month at McDonalds for the same price as a salad at most any NY deli. I think a Big mac meal at McDonalds is MAYBE $6 while a salad is closer to $10. C’mon. That is not cool. Why should eating healthy be a privilege?!! It is basically saying, healthy food is $10 and for just a fraction of the cost you can get, well, cancer. You’re welcome. Not cool.
BUT, I have done alright. Trying to eat lots of vegetables and yet again this week, apples have come to my rescue. Glorious. Sushi is also fantastic. Big fan.
I had yet another fun week with my son in my “journey” to better health. First off, I tricked him again into thinking I had eaten all of the popsicles. It is way too easy to totally devastate the boy. I felt a little bad but man, it was awesome. Also, he has been asking about my healthy eating. “Daddy, how come you are not having ice cream?” Not easy to explain that to a 3 year-old. I told him that if I were to lose weight it may curb my snoring. He was pleased to hear this. My son occasionally sneaks into bed with us in the early morning and has some serious issues with my snoring. I have kidney bruises to prove it. In any case, I didn’t say anything like “Daddy may die soon if he doesn’t lose some weight” or anything like that but still, it is tricky.
And the gym. You know, I work out at a gym in Chelsea and there are no shortage of dudes in amazing shape working out there. Some guys are like Fight Club ripped and I always want to ask them what their life is like. I want so badly to hear that they are 45 and eat and drink like pigs and only work out 2-3 days a week and don’t even try and that is how they get their physique. For some reason, even though I know the truth, I would love to hear this. But sadly, unless you are looking for a date, it is probably best not to ask a dude in a towel how he achieved his beautiful physique. Plus, I know it is not one, magical machine that does all of the work. Dude is working for what he has. OR he has the genetics of a God in which case, everybody hates him, not just me.
In alcohol news, well, yes, you saw the martini. Dear God, it was glorious. But yet again this week, I have little to report about alcohol. I wish I could talk about drinking my weight in vodka and eating a side of beef on my subway ride home but, as sexy as that sounds, it didn’t happen.
I think perhaps the biggest light at the end of the tunnel for me in this is, the clothes. Let’s face it, being thinner makes shopping better for anyone. Yes, I just wrote that ands yes, I am straight. I love clothes. Suits, shirts, shorts, jackets, shoes, yes. All in. Sean Avery interned at Vogue. Have you SEEN how Henrik Lundqvist dresses? Yeah, it pays to be in shape:
Afternoon cruise around the Apple.. A photo posted by Henrik Lundqvist (@hank30nyr)
I actually got a shirt for Christmas that I would not try on for months because I could not bear to see it fit me like a costume out of a comic book. This week, I finally did try it on and it looks ok. I mean, I am not Batman, but I look ok. Check it out:
So, I have 6 pounds down and 4 to go. The goal at this point is to focus on the now. This is such a slippery slope in this scenario because, at the end of the day, after I lose this 10 pounds, I have a ways to go. If or when I do succeed with this, I will have lost 10-12 pounds. That still leaves me with another 20 – 25 pounds to lose to get down to a healthy weight. I mean, BMI can go to hell, but I’ll still have weight to lose. I am trying to just take each day as it comes. If I have a bad day one day, I try to have a good day after that. What I WILL say is that success really does breed success. It is such a high to lose weight. It is sometimes better than anything I have had shaken, straight up with olives.
But I am healthier this week, again. And I am ready for the next weeks to come. I can do this.
Thanks again to everybody for their support!
Read “Fast Food Nation.” Among other things, it gets into why fast food is cheaper than healthier food. The industrial megafarm complex gets huge subsidies not only to produce their food, but to transport it. Big business wants us eating that crap. Glad to see your progress, Fran!
Avoiding crap is a full time job, Judy. Especially since I find said crap to be delicious. 🙂 Thanks for your support.
Great work! This is such an inspiring series. I love reading it every week. I think your approach is healthy but completely realistic. Keep going!
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Thanks for the kind words, Brit. I really appreciate it. And yes, I agree, realistic is the goal. I am not going to be Laird Hamilton overnight. I have made my peace with that and I am digging my pace. Thank you SO much for being in my corner. 🙂
Fran you are amazing. I cracked all the way up at “I’m going to be jacked son!!” lol I have tried certain protein bars and boy they are too much for me, but If I liked em I’d probably eat them too–easy protein. I know exactly about asking buff (women) about what their life is like. I do so ALL THE TIME–in my head. and yes, I whine about this disparity of food costs all the time on my blog–working in the city and trying to eat healthy is balls. (sorry for language Carly!) 🙂
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Amazing is probably a stretch, Nellie but I appreciate it. And yes, I speak fluent meat-head. It is a never ending source of entertainment. And your apology for your language was priceless. Balls? You are adorable. My wife had to sit me down and give me a talking to about writing WITHOUT curse words. It was like having to learn to write with my left hand. 🙂 Thanks again for your support. Cheers.
You are doing an awesome job!! So awesome that Roman is picking up on your new eating habits:)
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Thank you so much, Kim. Roman picks up on everything. 🙂
Good work Fran! Keep it up. My main beef with protein bars (get it, beef?) is that they violate my general rule of trying to eat foods with ingredients I can pronounce. I’m not basing this off of any science, but I feel better and generally more full and well-nourished, and therefore less likely to rely on impulse snacks, when I eat wholesome, “real” food. But different strokes for different folks.
I know you abhor cardio, but let me know if you ever want to give spinning a try. I thought I would absolutely hate it, but the place I now go regularly in Chelsea (Peloton on 23rd Street) is fairly un-intimidating and dude-friendly as far as these types of places go. For at least me personally, getting into a cardio routine that I actually enjoy and can do long term has been super helpful in killing the last few pounds of my weight loss goal.
BEEF!! Yeah Chris, my rule is to yell out how many grams of protein a bar has, then yell protein at the top of my lungs, punch the cashier in the face and tell him there is more where that came from. GET SOME!! Sorry, I am still in “bro mode” from an earlier reply. And I agree, real/good food always makes me feel more full and better. I am not against spinning but man, those seats do a job on me downstairs. Over-share? Perhaps I could give it a whirl. Perhaps there is a dude getaway in our future, man. Thanks for the support. Cheers.
Yes to what Chris said about the protein bars!! You know how I feel about those…
Well done Fran – you do know that the hardest part is keeping it off when you have lost what you want to lose. The slower you lose it too, the longer it stays off. I’m sure Min has told you that.!
Yeah Nan, tell me about it. That is the tough part for sure is actually keeping the weight off. I know when I get down to 175-180 I am going to be tempted to hit the nearest buffet to “celebrate” but I will have to discipline myself. Stupid discipline. I appreciate the support,, Nan. 🙂
hahaha – congrats on one more pound down! I absolutely love how shocking it is to you that healthy foods are ridiculously more expensive. Welcome. I also appreciate the care with which they handle apples in the city, and I assume you’ve been lectured enough by Carly about the protein bar thing so I’ll leave it alone.
I hope you continue your guest appearances post weight loss goal. You have a really interesting perspective 🙂
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