Outsourcing My Body–Final Week

Well, we have come to the end of this experiment that I am calling outsourcing my body.  Here are my final thoughts…

Diet

The wife all but admitted that she stopped mentally controlling my diet.  In my head I still thought “would the wife allow this?” when faced with a food choice and I did ask permission to go to a frozen yogurt place with the kids on Friday night.  I think this is a good thing as I need now to move on to some sort of maintainable lifestyle.  This project help me get off of soda (I have not had one in these 13 weeks) and deserts (other than the frozen yogurt [which was not that great] I have not had what you would call a desert).  All in all I would call the diet portion of this project a success.

Exercise

I have really enjoyed riding my bike in the evenings lately.  There is a great bike path just outside of our neighborhood and it takes about 30 – 40 minutes to take it to the end and then get back home.  I still walk the dog each morning (Nina is staring at me as I write this blog).  I have been thinking what else I should be doing but for the summer I think walking and riding will suffice.  I think this project has done it’s job in getting me off my hind end and outside moving around.

Weight

I was down 5/6 lbs. this week compared to last week.  This brings the total weight lost for this project up to 25 5/6 lbs.  Though I have slowed down a bit in this area I am still happy with my progress, even though I am only down 2 lbs. for the last 4 weeks.  I think the rest can come off slowly as I ease into a lifestyle that is more healthy than the one I had before this whole thing started.  This project has giving me momentum.  Sometimes when you see how far you have to go (for me it was almost 40 lbs.) it can stop you from even starting.  You see the mountain as insurmountable.  Since I only have less than 15 lbs. to go, I think I can get there now.  There is still that challenge my mother gave me a few weeks ago that I could not keep the weight off for 18 months.  Proving you mother wrong is good motivation!

Other

A big thank you to the wife for keeping me on the straight and narrow path.  Also for being my cheerleader during the entire project.  Also, thank you for not taking advantage of the situation by plucking my eyebrows or doing some strange thing with my hair.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 12

Well, It has been twelve weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

I think I have moved past the end of this project already.  This applies to Diet, Exercise and Weight actually.  The wife is not really telling me what to eat or what not to eat.  We celebrated our 15th anniversary this week and went out to eat on Friday night.  We also got a pizza from Costco last night.  It feels like I am in the maintenance part already.

Exercise

I continue to walk a dog each morning (time permitting) and ride my bike some afternoons / evenings.  It seems like not much more than I was doing before this whole thing started really.

Weight

I gained 2/3 lbs. this week.  This still puts me down 25 lbs. overall and that is great.  I am at the high end of my confortable weight range so I am not sweating it.  I would like to be down another 15 lbs. or so but I will probably not put that loss into any formal timeline.

Other

As I mentioned in the Diet section, I feel I have moved on past the hard part.  I am glad for the process and thankful to the wife for her part in this process.  She has no big plans for me (that I know of) for this last week of our agreement.  These last few blogs (and weeks) have been anticlimactic for sure.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 11

Well, It has been eleven weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

We went out on Thursday night to Pei Wei (one of our favorite places).  The wife decided that we needed lettuce wraps and then we did our normal order which consists of Pad Thai and then either Orange or Kung Pow Chicken.  All this we split among the four of us so we are really all eating 1/2 servings of everything on average.  We also ate out last night.  The daughter was at a sleepover so the wife and I split some southwestern egg rolls and fajitas.  I feared the worst when I hit the scales this morning since I tend to retain water when eating out as opposed to home.  Other than that I stuck to the normal routine of oatmeal for breakfast and avoiding anything sweet (soda or desert).  I am still keeping in mind what kind of diet I can maintain long term, a lifestyle that I can sustain.

Exercise

I think we have given up on the workout videos and are OK with my walking the dogs and riding my bike as the weather allows.  I enjoy my morning walks with Nina (our Doberman).  I grab my headphones and enjoy the good weather that we are having.  The wife talks about adding weights and some aerobics but thus far it has not happened.  With only 2 weeks to go, I am keeping quiet.

Weight

Given my gain last week I needed a nice loss this week to keep the momentum going.  Well, I got it.  I was down 3 1/3 lbs. this week.  This is my single biggest loss of any week since week 1.  This brings my total weight lost to 25 2/3 lbs.  My jeans are fitting better and better each week.  The wife notices my loss every time she gives me a hug.  I still have 13 lbs. to go to my the same goal weight that I had a few summers ago.

Other

My hair is in need of some shearing.  If the wife does not make a move in the last two weeks of this project I might defer to my normal summer method of putting on the 1/4” attachment on my razor and having at it.  As much as I think I might want to have long hair again, I don’t think the joy I would gain from it outweighs the pain of taking time each morning to tame it.  Maybe I will do that before my last weigh in of this project (every little bit helps).

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 9

Well, It has been nine weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

I went out to eat a few times this week and we ordered pizza when the daughter had a friend sleep over on Friday night.  Tuesday night, two co-workers and I went out to a BBQ place and I tried to keep it as healthy as possible given the choices on the menu.  I ended up having a turkey sandwich, beans and corn…

It was very good and I ate it all and was not overly full at the end of it all.

Saturday morning the girls (remember the daughter had a friend over) wanted donuts.  I knew that donuts would not be what I was allowed to I took the son out to breakfast.  We ended up at the Café Brazil down the road.  My breakfast (though costly) was awesome…

The scrambled eggs were nothing to write home about but everything else was awesome.  I brought home enough as leftovers for the wife to have a 2nd breakfast before she headed out to her part time job as a rep for a gourmet dog food.

Since I did all this eating out, I was not looking forward to the scales this morning for this week’s weight reading.

Exercise

I did not test me right knee out this week but continued with my walking the dog / riding a bike routine (other than Tuesday morning when I had a 6:30 AM meeting with a co-worker in Slovakia).  I feel like I am letting the wife down in that I think she had big plans for me as we enter the 3rd month of this project.  Sorry dear.

Weight

This part of this project is going a little too well.  Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that I am making progress but other than the hiccup 2 weeks ago where I gained 1/2 lb., I have made steady progress even if my exercise or diet is not what I would like it to be.  The only thing that I have been consistent with is no sweets.  Not one cookie or soda has touched my lips since January 1.  This has been the key to all my previous diets as well so I do not know why this shocks me so much.

I got on the scales and discovered that I had my best week since week 1.  I am down another 3 1/6 lbs. this week brining my overall total to 23 1/2 lbs. 

Other

I have only 4 weeks to go and I have my momentum back from a few weeks ago.  I have been thinking about what kind of sustainable lifestyle I can ease into once this is over.  One that will allow me to keep on the straight and narrow and not back to the life that led to the need for this whole project.  No sweets / soda might just be it.  It seems I can indulge on non dessert food (or soda).  As I head toward my mid 40’s I know I need to do something.  I can’t keep up this cycle every few years as eventually it will not be this easy to drop the weight I fear.  Plus there is that challenge from my mother to keep this weight off for 18 months.  That might be all the short term motivation that I need.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 8

Well, It has been eight weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

I got back on the horse this week, well after Sunday night that is.  My mother and grandmother were in town last weekend (if you remember I partially blamed my mother for my 1/2 lb. gain last week).  They had the kids on Sunday afternoon and night.  This allowed the wife and I to enjoy another night out.

We ended up at Macaroni Grill (notice the crayons in the top left of the picture) and I ordered the above wonderful ravioli dish and a nice glass of wine.  I also ate a little bread dipped in olive oil.  I sampled a little of the wife’s dish and a little of her salad.  Since that night though I have been on the straight and narrow (that is until last night when I had a slice of Costco pizza for dinner).

Exercise

My right knee continues to be sore so I did not exercise with the videos this week.  Last Saturday’s attempt at level 2 of Jillian was the last time I tried anything strenuous.  This week consisted solely of walking Nina (our Doberman) between 1 and 2 miles and a few bike rides.  I am not sure if much will change this week.  The wife is convinced I am simply doing an exercise or two incorrectly.  Perhaps.

Other

I need a hair cut.  The sides are getting a little flippy and hair gel only partially masks this.  I put it before the wife to decide and so far the flips continue.

Weight

Due to the eating out on Sunday, last week’s less than stellar weight report and last night’s pizza, I was once again concerned as I stepped onto the scales this morning.  My fears subsided when I saw that I had lost 1 5/6 lbs. and am now down a total of 20 1/3 lbs.  I have often thought that diet moreso than exercise helped in the weight loss area anyway and this week can be used as exhibit A.

I have only 5 weeks to go and the wife has not brought up the subject of extending this project in a few weeks.  My mother bought me a big bag of M&M’s.  It remains unopened despite the kids asking me daily when I am going to open it (and I guess share).  I think I will need to set a weight goal and allow myself some M&M’s when I reach it.  Since I have about 18 lbs. to go on my personal weigh goal, maybe 8 more lbs. is a good place for that.  This way the kids will root me on (at least for 8 more lbs.).

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 7

Well, It has been seven weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

This was not a good week for the diet portion of this project.  Compared to 8 weeks ago it was a good week but compared to the last 7 weeks it was not.  On Tuesday I went out to lunch with co-workers who were in town for testing.  I went to Chick-Fil-A but I only had a wrap and went without the dressing part.  I think this was OK and not too far off from a normal lunch.  That night though the wife decided we were having pizza.  Fast forward to Friday night.  My mom and grandma were in town and the kids stayed with them at their hotel leaving the wife and I with no kids on a Friday night.  We went to Pei Wei and split an appetizer and also split a single plate.  I was still quite full when we left.  Last night (Saturday) my mom and grandma were at our house around dinnertime so we ordered pizza.  I do not want to spoil the WEIGHT portion of this blog but I do want to point out part of the genius of this project.  Not only are the decisions for my body outsourced to the wife but also the guilt.  For when I do not follow the diet or exercise, it is with her permission.  So, when you get to the weight portion, I would like to say that I totally blame her.  She let me down this week.  Of course, she could have told me NOT to eat pizza last night but that would have made her look bad in front of my mother.  Mother-in-law / Daughter-in-law relationships being what they are, I suppose she had no choice but to allow me to eat pizza.  From my point of view this just allows me also to blame my mother.  This did not stop me from feeling a little guilty when weighing in this morning but it has soothed my conscious since that time.

Exercise

I have been doing so well on level 1 of the workout video that I feared level 2 was coming.  The wife did announce earlier in the week that we were going to try level 2 on Saturday.  For the past 6 weeks whenever I would pat myself on the back with my progress in conquering level 1, she was there to warn me about the coming migration to level 2.  She had showed me a few of the moves that level 2 had coming and explained various pains that she had from doing the level 2 workout.  This left a little fear and doubt in my mind.  I began to obsess about the coming of this level to my daily routine.  After my first attempt at level 2 was behind me on Saturday morning I can say that it was much easier than it was made out to be.  Perhaps this is part of the genius of my wife in that she overstated its difficulty so that I would feel better after having done it.  Who knows.  I have today off (my normal Sunday thing) so I will hit level 2 again tomorrow.

Other

I still feel a bit guilty for the weight portion but all in all it was still a good week.  Perhaps I have some water weight from the sodium in the pizza from last night (I hope) and next week will get my momentum back.  This is one of the downfalls of only weighing in once a week.  Three years ago when I lost all this weight (that I am re-losing now) I weighed in daily.  I had my bad weeks but there were good days in those bad weeks.  Of course bad days had a negative effect on my attitude during that day so my plan on weighing once a week has worked well so far as I have carried the good news of Sunday’s weigh in with me during the week.  Now that I have a bad report, the week ahead will have to sort itself out I guess.

Weight

Let’s get right to it since I have harped on and on about this weeks lack of progress.  This morning I was up 1/2 lb.  That is not too bad I guess but very bad compared to the rate I was going in this project.  This still puts me down 18 1/2 lbs. for 7 weeks.  Not too shabby.

The kids are staying at the hotel with my mother again tonight and the wife and I will probably go out again tonight.  I have trouble enjoying food during this project though.  I am not sure if I can maintain this life style going forward in my life.  My mother told me that she is not so impressed with my loss thus far but suggested that she would only be impressed if I kept it off 18 months from now.  So, unless I change my life style I will not be able to meet her challenge.  18 months from now is August of 2013.  So basically I have a new challenge on the table.  Stay fit until I turn 44.  I am up to the challenge I think.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 6

Well, It has been six weeks since I outsourced my body.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

We went to a Superbowl party last Sunday night and I did pretty well in not overdoing it.  I had more to eat than I would have had I not been to the party but stayed away from the deserts save for the fruit salad that we brought and some raspberries that had a cream cheese based filling.  I drank only water and mostly watched the game and watched other people eat (and then complain about their overeating).  This week was very busy at work as I played catch up from the previous week.  There were days I simply forgot to eat lunch.  My appetite is strange lately as even yesterday I only had some peanuts and applesauce for lunch and declined to eat dinner with the family as we were at the food mart inside Ikea (though I did eat a little of the wife’s salad and did snag one meatball).  The wife wants me to be careful as undereating can mess with your metabolism.  I might point out that the wife has allowed me to have a sweet here and there but I have refused the offer.  I do not wish to make her out to be a tyrant here.

Exercise

I was not feeling well Thursday night / Friday morning.  It was just a stomach issue so I begged off working out Friday morning though I did walk Nina for just over a mile (jogging part of the way).  Other than that I followed the same workout video as in past weeks.  I am modifying one exercise a bit as my right knee is still slightly sore.  I can do all the pushups now and have to pause the video less and less for a quick 10 second water break.  I fear that level 2 of this video is in my immediate future.

Other

I was talking to my boss the other day.  He had stopped by my cubicle and we were just chatting.  I mentioned that I was down 16+ lbs. and he said something about not being able to tell.  Since the wife mostly mentions my progress in this area after (or during) a hug, I suggested to my boss that he should hug me more.  A slight awkward silence passed and then I explained why I said what I said.  I also dug into my closet and found three pairs of jeans that have not been worn in quite some time.  I tried them all on and I was at least able to get them on and all the buttons and zippers fastened.  They were still a little tight but wearable.  I wore one pair to a few places this weekend (including the aforementioned Ikea).

Weight

Since I am making such great progress I hesitate to weigh in on Sundays for fear of little (or no) progress for the week.  This week (as with every week thus far) found my fears unfounded.  This week I lost 2 5/6 lbs. (my best week since week 1).  This brings my total loss up to an even 19 lbs. in six short weeks.

If you had told me six weeks ago that I would be down 19 lbs. (which is half of my goal) then I think I would not have believed you.  I still have seven weeks left in my outsourcing contract with my wife and for the first time since this experiment we did not discuss lengthening the duration of the contract.  She has mentioned from time to time that I should be motivated enough to continue on my own when March ends but if that was the case then I would have not put all the weight back on from 3 summers ago when I lost it all.  We will have to wait and see.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 5

Well, It has been five weeks since I outsourced my body.  This week was a little tough due to my work schedule.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

I had a workshop this week at work.  Basically I am involved in a year long project at work and about 25 people involved with this project all converged in Plano this week.  There were only a handful of us that live here so everyone else was from elsewhere (US, UK, Australia, Mexico, etc).  Since the company paid for the travel and hotel expenses and since we only had a week, long hours were the norm.  I typically did not have time to get breakfast at home before heading in to the office and lunch was only during the allotted break times.  I managed to keep to my diet despite there being a cart of goodies outside the room and despite those project members from other countries bringing delicacies from their native land for us to try.  I stayed strong and politely passed on everything.  The most trying time was during the team dinner on Wednesday.  We went to Maggiano’s and there was food a plenty.  I passed on the bread and deep fried calamari appetizers but did try a stuffed mushroom and a fried zucchini.  I passed on the fettuccini, ravioli, and lasagna and had the salmon instead.  I did try a few beef medallions and a small amount of mashed potatoes.  I also passed on all deserts (cheesecake, chocolate cake, ice cream and tiramisu).  I sipped my white wine and enjoyed the conversation back and forth between a fellow Texan, an Englishman and an Aussie.  If you have ever been to this restaurant you know there are tons of leftovers.  Since most at the dinner were staying in hotels, those of us from around here got the booty.  I brought home triple the food that I ate and my wife and kids had a great lunch the next day.  Through it all, the entire week, I managed to stay true to what the wife would have me eat (though she had no trouble eating the tiramisu I brought home).

Exercise

My right knee has been giving me a little trouble.  There is only a little swelling but the exercise video really hammers the legs and consequently the knees.  I pushed through the week but begged off yesterday and today for it to heal.  I am able to get through the sections with more ease with each new day.

Other

I got to explain this whole project a lot this week at work.  Some would ask why I was declining some sweet or why I was not pigging out at our team dinner so I had an opportunity to talk about it.  In general the men thought I was crazy and the women all thought it was a wonderful idea (no doubt this will become pillow talk and their husbands will curse me and this whole idea).

Weight

I was dreading weighing in this morning since my diet was slightly off this week.  I ate the soups at work this week and they were high in sodium I think and despite trying very hard at Maggiano’s I could have easily overdone it.  But, just like the last few weeks, I lost about 2 lbs.  Doing the math, I was down 1 5/6 lbs. bringing the overall total to 16 1/6 lbs.  The wife was both happy and jealous at the same time.

I still have 8 weeks left in this project and have even more motivation to keep going.  This all might change when the wife moves me to level 2 in the exercise video of course.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 4

Well, It has been four weeks since I outsourced my body.  I am getting into a rhythm / routine and now cannot remember my former life of unlimited coffee, sweets, snacks and frozen coke / ice cream runs (the kids miss these more than I do).  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

Not much changed in my diet from previous weeks.  Next week might be a bit of a challenge as I am in an all week workshop at work.  There will be more temptation to eat things I am not allowed and to eat out or in the cafeteria out of convenience.  This week though was more of the same.  It is easier to get my gallon of water in during the day as I find myself thirsty for water when I am behind.  Here is a chart comparing December’s water intake (a typical month for me as far as water consumption would go) and January (projected numbers since the month is not over yet).

Exercise

I continued to do the 30 Day Shred video that I started in week two.  I missed Thursday morning due to my shutting off the alarm and sleeping an extra hour.  The wife still allowed me to take today (Sunday) off since she felt I was doing a great job overall.  I can almost make it though the video now without taking a break.  The push ups are getting easier (though I can only do 15 before collapsing) and the only exercise that I cannot do well involves balance more than strength (though the weakness of my stabilizing muscles are probably to blame here).  I still mute the video and play my own music which makes it more enjoyable.

Other

I was talking about my progress this morning with the wife and she indicated that since she only had my body for 3 months, she was making the most of it.  This comment suggested that if I had signed a 6 month contract with her then my life might be initially easier.  This was funny to me as this was the reason I gave her 3 months and not just 1.  I could not imagine what would have happened if I gave her a shorter period.

Weight

This morning’s weigh in found me down 2.3 lbs. from last week.  This brings the overall total to 14.3 lbs.  I was concerned about this week’s weigh in since I had pasta the last 2 nights.  In the end though I kept pace with the last 2 weeks.

I still have 9 weeks left in this project.  I am getting a little too comfortable with the morning exercise and the wife has hinted at a change coming up (less aerobic, more weights).  I guess I will find out when I find out.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 3

Well, It has been three weeks since I outsourced my body.  This week was much easier than last week as my body got used to the exercise video that I do each morning.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

Not much changed in my diet from week two.  I stuck to the plan of 4 smaller meals each day and kept to a routine for the days that I worked (an apple around 11 AM and a can of soup around 2 PM).  Saturday found me eating out at a restaurant for the first time this year.  The son and I were attending an all day event and there was only an hour long break for lunch.  I ended up eating a wrap at Chili’s that had chicken, lettuce, avocado, corn and few other things.  This was served with steamed broccoli.  I still only drank my allotted coffee each morning and a gallon water each day.

Exercise

I continued to do the 30 Day Shred video that I started last week.  This week was much easier though I still am having trouble getting through some of the exercises without taking a small break while the girls on the video complete the cycle.  I was allowed to take Sunday morning off last week as the wife is evidently going to allow me 1 day off per week.  I traded today for yesterday and took Saturday off as well since the son and I had to be on the road by 7:30 or so.

Other

I had complained of a slight pain in my neck so the wife made an appointment with her chiropractor for me.  I had not been to a chiropractor in a while and based on the amount of adjusting he did, I was in the need of one.  Also, the subject of plucking my eyebrows came up again (when I asked about a haircut).

Weight

This morning’s weigh in found me down 2 lbs. from last week.  This brings the overall total to 12 lbs.  My jeans and Dockers are fitting a little better now.  I have a few pairs of pants in the closet that I abandoned a while back so it might be time to think about trying them on again and getting them back into the wardrobe.

With 10 more weeks left in this project I still find myself with the proper attitude.  It is a chore some days to get all the water down but so far I have not missed my daily quota of a gallon.  I joked a bit with the wife about renewing her contract at the end of the 3 months.  She got a little too excited for my taste.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 2

If I were to summarize this week with one word, that word would be “Owwwwwwwwwwww!”

It has been two weeks since I outsourced my body.  This week was much tougher than week one as the wife cranked it up a notch in the exercise area.  On to this week’s summary…

Diet

Not much changed in my diet from week one.  We did have 3 kids spend the night (in addition to our two) this Friday and so we ordered pizza.  There is a pizza place within 2 minutes of our house and we tried them out in late December.  The pizza is pretty good and given the closeness it won a second try.  The wife allowed me 4 pieces (the pizza was not cut in the normal triangle slice so the pieces were small).  Other than that anomaly, I ate oatmeal almost every morning and took and apple and a can of healthy soup for my lunch.  Dinner was pretty good this week overall (a small steak one night, fish the next).  I had nothing to drink save for my allotted morning coffee and a gallon of water each day.

Exercise

First thing Sunday morning the wife had me start level 1 of the 30 day shred workout video that we have owned for quite some time.

Don’t let Jillian’s smile fool you, she is brutal.  The level one workout (which the wife mercifully let me start at) is 25 minutes of non stop workout.  I took a lot of breaks during day one (and two and three) but got through it.  My muscles protested almost constantly over the first four days.  There was a point on day three that I literally had to stop 1/2 way down my driveway on the way to my car as the decline was causing a lot of pain in my calf and upper leg muscles.  I dreaded doing this each day.  The wife joined me on a few days but the other days she watched me do this workout and took it upon herself to point out my flawed way of doing some of the exercises (thanks dear!).  By days six and seven though it was getting easier and I took less breaks during the workout and the pain that I experienced in almost all of my muscles was much more manageable.

Other

I would like to share this chart with you…

As you might imagine, drinking a gallon of water a day has certain effects on my body.  Another thing we tried this week (and this was my doing more so than the wife’s) was to get more sleep.  You can check out this blog entry for more details.  The better diet, more exercise and additional sleep has got me feeling great.

Weight

After losing 8.2 lbs. during the first week I had a fear that this week’s Sunday morning weigh in would be disappointing.  I held no hope to match last week’s results of course (well maybe in my dreams).  Today’s weigh in had me down another 1.8 lbs. for a total of 10 lbs.  That is still not too shabby when you look at it that way.

I still have 11 more weeks in this project but I think the worst of the initial shock to my body is over.  That is until I am forced to move to level 2 on the Jillian video.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body–Week 1

Well it has been one week since I outsourced my body.  As you may recall, I decided that I did not want to worry about what or what not to eat and what type and how much of exercise to do.  I have outsourced that to the wife for three months and she has had this job for one week now.

Last Sunday I weighed myself so that I had a starting point.  I plan on weighing myself on each Sunday morning and then reporting that and anything else of interest in a weekly blog (this being the first).  In my blog describing this plan, I explained that my original intent was to let the wife control my diet and exercise but she immediately went past that and into thoughts of hair color and eyebrow maintenance.  I will break down my thoughts in the following areas each week.

Diet

The wife has been working out for a few months now.  In that time she has changed what she has been eating and how she is eating it.  Cutting out some bad foods is a given but she has been eating four to five smaller meals per day (approximately 300 calories each) rather than three meals.  She immediately converted me to this schedule.  I ate a bowl of oatmeal almost every morning with honey and some trail mix on top.  I drank a few protein shakes when I worked from home and mostly ate a large apple or bowl of soup when at work.  Then there is water.  She has me drinking one gallon of water each day.  She handed me this quart size glass jar (I think it used to hold tomato juice originally) and I drink four of those per day.  It is mildly annoying to have to drink this much water.  When you put more water in your body, more water has to come out (and I am not talking about sweating here).  Anyway, she swears by this method and since she is calling the shots I drank seven gallons of water over the past week.  Other than an allotted two cups of coffee each morning (enjoyed with the wife), water is the only other thing that I drank.

Exercise

Knowing that I was hopelessly out of shape, she took it easy on me the first week.  Basically I walk between one and two miles each morning.  I accomplish this by taking the dogs for a walk (one at a time) around a 0.6 mile route around the neighborhood.  The dogs love it and it has not been the cold that has bothered me as much as the light.  Since the days are so short, I need to start my walking before the sunrise or else I will be late getting into the office.  I threw in an extra lap or two on our new bikes for good measure but mostly this week I focused on getting my body used to the concept of exercise.

Other

There is not much to mention here.  So far the eyebrows are as they were a week ago and my hair color is as well.  I tried several times to get to a clothing store over the Christmas break to buy some pants (mine are slightly tight to the point of being uncomfortable) and the wife did suggest that I wait.

Weight

I think I will avoid mentioning my exact weight in this blog but I can tell you that (and even I find this hard to believe) I am down 8.2 lbs. since my January 1 weigh in!  I think this number is so high based on the fact that day one was right after a New Year’s Eve evening of eating and drinking things that are not in my diet any longer.  The massive amount of water I have been drinking might help here as well.  For whatever reason, it is what it is.  I hold no expectations that this trend will continue and I imagine next week’s weigh in will give a better assessment of how fast I will be shedding the 40 or so lbs. that I would like to lose.

All in all it was an easy week.  I was tempted at times by some of the commercials during the football games but not really since the wife would not let me have them anyway.  I have drank only water and coffee this week but I do not really miss soda or even sweet tea (yet).  The great thing about this plan of mine is that it doesn’t matter if I want any of these things or not, the wife is in charge of those decisions.

Jon

Outsourcing My Body

I am beginning a (3) month experiment in a few days.  I got the idea after reading the last book by one of my favorite authors, A.J. Jacobs.  In his most recent book, My Life As An Experiment, he has a series of small essays about experiments that he tried.  From Radical Honesty (always say what is on your mind) to Unitasking (only doing one thing at a time) he recounts several, month long experiments that he tried with various levels of success.  He has undertaken other, longer experiments from reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover to trying to follow the Old Testament laws of the Bible as literally as possible in this day and age (this took a whole year).  He is very honest with his shortcomings and pokes fun at himself more so than at others.  Anyway, I recommend reading any of his stuff.  This brings me to the subject of this blog and what will likely turn into a serious of blogs keep you (dear reader) up to date on my experiment.

In one of the experiments, A.J. Jacobs outsources his life.  He literally hires a few people in India to do everything for him from doing research (for his day job) to reading a bedtime story to his kid at night (using speaker phone).  This experiment actually spawned the idea for the book, The 4 Hour Work Week.  Another experiment involved becoming the perfect spouse.  He literally does everything his wife wants, defers to her on every decision and always thinks of her first when she is not around (including a short mini experiment in always sitting down to use the toilet).  His wife (as any wife would) takes a little advantage of him but that makes it all the more challenging (and fun to read about).

Since moving down here to Texas, the wife has joined a gym.  She and one of her best friends go regularly and even hired a trainer to get them started.  She comes home from working out pumped about the progress she is making and how much better she feels.  She is improving her diet and dragging the rest of the immediate family along with her.  I am happy for her but I have no interest really in changing my lifestyle.  I want to want to change but I do not want to change so I am going to do what any American would do when faced with a job that we do not want to do, I need to find somebody else to do it.

Since I do not want to think about working out (or schedule how or when or what is to be done) and since I do not want to put forth the effort to think about eating more healthy, I am going to outsource this job.  For (3) months I am outsourcing deciding how to care for my body to my wife.  This experiment will begin on January 1 and end on March 31.  I will let her decide what I eat and when I eat it.  I will let her decide when I will exercise, how much I will exercise and what type of exercise that I will do.  This is my Christmas present to her really and she could not be more excited.  In my mind, eating and exercising was really the limit of the outsourcing of the care of my body but she has already (as any normal wife would) began testing the limits of this experiment (before it has even began).  She has spoken of plucking my eyebrows and coloring my hair.  She is looking at my (3) week old beard and deciding if it should stay or go.  I would not be surprised if my wardrobe fell within (what she thinks is) the bounds of this experiment.

I, too, am looking forward to this.  I have regained every last pound that I lost 2 years ago when I was heading toward my 40th birthday and now that I do not have any yard work to do I am not even getting what little bit of fresh air and exercise that my weekly push mowing of my 1/2 acre in Indiana gave me.  I am really looking forward to seeing myself in the mirror on April 1, 2012.  Mostly though, I am looking forward to making my wife happy (Happy Wife, Happy Life).  I will be sure to keep you posted.

Jon