The New Man Perfect Weight Challenge

Off the Wagon!

Drew Dyck — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:31:00 +0000

Confession time. I've fallen off the diet wagon…and landed hard. One colleague remarked that I am actually under the wagon’s tires. Harsh words. But don’t worry about me. I comforted myself with some warm pecan pie.

I’m not sure how this happened. It certainly wasn’t planned. It started with an innocent “cheat meal” and morphed into a full fledge flight from reality. And it couldn’t have happened at a worse time—with just a month to go on my diet.

Here’s the most shameful part. Man I hope Jordan Rubin—author of Perfect Weight America—isn’t reading this.

I ate pork.

Two days in a row. That’s probably the worst sin you can commit on this diet. Rubin really doesn’t like pork. Not only because of the Bible. He’s got other reasons too. And he convinced me of his position. In his book he writes about how pigs have very simple stomachs, which means that everything they eat (and they eat everything!) basically becomes part of their makeup. Bottom line. When you eat pork, you’re eating garbage.

The thought of eating garbage scared me straight for a while. Then inexplicably my pork fears fled a few days ago when I spotted “pulled pork sandwich” on the menu of a local restaurant. I ordered. I ate. The serpent slipped back into the trees and I felt very naked. But I can’t lie. There was a certain pleasure in the illicit act. The Bible says stolen water is sweet. Let me tell you—that goes for forbidden pulled pork sandwiches too.

OK, I’m getting off track. Here’s the bottom line. Not only am I getting back on the wagon, I’m taking some sage advice posted on my blog last week to extend my regimen for an additional 30 days. That should give me enough time to at least get near my original goals. And next time you hear from me, the title of my post will be “Back in the Saddle Again!”

Crunch Time!

Drew Dyck — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:16:00 +0000

It’s crunch time. I’m down to one month to go on my Perfect Weight America diet. Unfortunately my goal weight of 185 pounds is still a long way from a reality. Not that I’m not doing well. I’m hovering just over 210 pounds. But with 30 days to go, it doesn’t look good. Since I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy, this is the real test for me. Will I be able to stay the course, knowing that I very likely will fall short of my goal? Still, wherever I land, it will still be a far cry from 240.

The benefit of the rapidly approaching deadline is that I’ve been a lot more disciplined about eating the right foods and exercising regularly. At first I was wheezing five minutes into my workouts, but now I have more endurance. The next challenge will be to maintain this lifestyle after the four-month period is complete. Eating and exercising routines are like your character—they’re only put to the test when temptation strikes and no one is watching.

My 36 Jeans Make a Comeback

Drew Dyck — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:28:00 +0000

I’m well into the second half of my diet and I’m down to 215 pounds. Still a long way to go (my goal is 185), but I’ve lost over 20 pounds.

Does it ever feel good! I feel like one of those people in a cheesy diet commercial. But instead of dancing around in white, saying “Call Jenny!” I’m squeezing on my old size 36 jeans and bragging to my wife. “Check it out. Haven’t seen these in a while, have you.” I guess that’s how a man celebrates weight loss.

The loss has come a little slower than I had hoped. I’m the kind of person who wants immediate results. I think a lot of other guys are like that too. That’s why crash diets, with calorie limits, are so popular.

But I’m glad I’m doing Perfect Weight America instead. Jordan Rubin explains why the whole counting calories method is bad news. On those diets you can fill up your calories with whatever foods you want. Of course everyone chooses bad foods. What happens, Rubin explains, is that your body begins starving for nutrients and inevitably the body wins out. You break down and binge. That’s why those diets always fail. But on PWA, you eat all healthy, whole foods. It’s not about counting calories. It’s about getting the food your body needs. And when it does, you’re less hungry for junk food and therefore less likely to fall.

Though crash diets may work better in the short term, going healthy is by far the better option. And, hey, you still lose weight. I’m living proof. Next time you see me, I’ll be wearing my old 36 pants, even if I have to suck in my belly a little.

Traffic Violation

Drew Dyck — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:04:00 +0000

The Bible says, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Man, did I ever learn that to be true this week!

Here’s how it happened. I’m driving down the road. My wife is in the passenger seat. She’s eating a McDonald’s ice cream sunday and she offers me some. Just one bite won’t hurt, I reason.

Pretty soon I’m on my fourth.

Since my hands are busy with driving, she spoons the ice cream directly into my mouth. We pull up to a stoplight. She’s just about to push another heaping spoonful into my mouth, when I hear a horn blast beside me. Feeling a little guilty already, the sound startles me badly. I look at the car next to me. It’s Chris. We share an office. Of course he knows I’m on the diet. He shakes his finger at me with a mock scowl on his face.

Busted!

I guess I’m learning the value of accountability. Doing this regimen publicly was an excellent decision. Perfect Weight America isn’t just a diet. It’s a complete change of lifestyle. When you’re trying to make changes this big, a lone ranger is a dead ranger. It’s essential to have accountability everywhere—even in traffic!

Dreaming of a Skinny Christmas

Drew Dyck — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:47:00 +0000

I made it through the holidays with my diet pretty much intact. There was the odd indiscretion—like when I started inhaling chocolate-covered éclairs at a Christmas Eve party—but I did pretty well considering the temptation. Over the week of Christmas I actually lost a pound. Let me tell you, that’s a first! Usually I gain 5 pounds over the holidays, so the way I see it, I’m 6 pounds better off than I would have been.

But the best thing about this diet isn’t the weight loss. It’s how I feel. I have more energy. More clarity. I just feel a whole lot better overall.

I can’t get too content though and let my guard down. That’s when I’m more likely to mess up. And I have to remember. I’m still a good 30 pounds overweight, so I have to stay focused.

The Christmas Test

Drew Dyck — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:12:00 +0000

Why did I start this diet before the Christmas holidays?

That’s the question I asked myself this week as I stood among the sugar cookies, Hershey kisses and homemade fudge flooding my workplace. As Homer Simpson would say, “Mmmmmm…homemade fudge.”

At home I’m safe. Since starting the diet my fridge is a veritable garden. If I get hungry I have choices like apples or broccoli. No junk food whatsoever. That’s intentional. Flee temptation, the Bible says.

But at work I’m a sitting duck—especially when I hit the midday slump and am besieged by a hankering for the office’s smorsborg of culinary delights. Fortunately I have colleagues watching my back.

“Nooooo,” one warned as he spotted me veering toward a tin of cookies with lust gleaming in my eyes.

I’ve had the odd indiscretion, but overall I’m doing well. And it’s paying off. I’m down 11 pounds in only 3 weeks! And I feel better too. More energetic. My head is clearer. My wife says I’m even snoring less.

But the real test is still to come: Christmas itself. I’m already feeling sorry for myself, like a kid who knows he getting a lump of coal in his stocking. Yet I’ve found there’s always an excuse to overeat, so I’m taking a stand now. If I can stay strong at Christmas I figure I can withstand any temptation to come. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Week One: Temptation Strikes

Drew Dyck — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:19:00 +0000

Dizzy. Shaky. Irritable.

That’s how I felt the first day on the diet. I kicked off my morning with three Omega 3 eggs, a grapefruit and a glass of water. At 10 am I dutifully downed my “Perfect Weight” shake. Lunch was a spinach salad with vinaigrette dressing.

You’d think I’d be happy.

Nope. My stomach knew something was amiss. Where was the McDonalds? Where were the carbs and sugar? I was getting enough to eat, so I wasn’t hungry. But I wasn’t happy. Maybe this was the “detox” I’d been warned about. I was worried that by week’s end I’d be pulling imaginary spiders off my face.

Yet over the next few days I began to feel better. My body was gradually getting accustomed to subsisting on strange new foods like salmon, broccoli and salad.

But then I was confronted with the first test of my newfound resolve. It didn’t come in the form that I expected—I guess it never does. It wasn’t the smell of Cinnabon wafting through the mall or the lure of Cold Stone Icecream. It was the sweet, soft voice of my wife. I had fallen asleep on the couch. When I awoke, she was standing over me, holding a tray of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven.

“Honey, you’ve been doing so well. Just one won’t hurt.”

I had two.

The next day, I was feeling a little guilty but got right back on the horse with a Perfect Weight America shake for breakfast. That day I stepped on the scale: down 4 pounds. Not a bad week ... the cookies notwithstanding.

To join me on the diet, click here.